
Class _„ 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOvIT 



-*i«1892.»i«- 





7/ 




» 






— : IN THE : — 



%^.H-W^^'^* 



SHULTZ 



Price 25 Cents, 



OBSERVATIONS 



ORTH- 




H 



CONTAINIXG AN 



ACCOUNT OF A TRIP TO ALASKA, WHALK STORY, 
MOOSE STORY, DESCRIPTION OF RELICS IN 
SCIENCE AND ART GALLERIES, THE MIN- 
NEHAHA FALLS, MANNERS AND CUS- 
TOMS OF THE PEOPLE, ETC. 



BY 



^ s MAY 

JOSEPH S. SHULSCZ. 



1892: 

Record Book and Job Office, 

ADA, OHIO. 



Copyrighted 1892, 

BY 

JOS. S. SHULTZ, Ada, Ohio. 









PREFACE. 

The six main ol)jects for the appearance of 
tliif^ small book are: 

First — To awaken the perceptive faculties. 

Second — It will also be found beneficial in 
history, by associating the events and relics 
with the dates, thus making history real. 

Third — Create an incentive for investigation. 
ouRTH — To awaken interest in museums, 
^^•ience and art galleries. 

Fifth — To notice nature, human and Divine 
as well as changes in the social conditions. 

Sixth — As a supplementary reading book. 

I conclude by wishing this geographical 
novel to be a true friend to all who read it, 
although it may chasten severely at times. 

J. S. S. 




FEDERAL BUILDING AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 



OBSERVATIONS 

IN THE 

NORTH-WEST. 



A trip to the Northwest tills one with romantic 
experiences and arouses an interest in human- 
ity. The sublime and beautiful as well as the 
ridiculous is presented on ever}^ hand. Here, 
especially in the land of the Dakotas, abide all 
races and classes, each alike in some respects 
but different in the main. 

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE RUSSIANS. 

About twenty years ago whole colonies 
came from the region of the Black Sea. 
Some settled in Manitoba, Canada, others 
in the Southwestern part of Minnesota, still 
a larger colony settled in the southeastern part 
of South Dakota, near Sioux Falls. A small 
settlement of fifteen families moved to the 
northwestern part of Iowa; large colonies are 
also in Northern Nebraska and Southern Kan- 
sas, One family is in Oregon. 

As a rule these people are very economical, 
industrious and religious, living in one story 
houses made of unburnt brick with the stable 
and house adjoining. The roofs are of long 



6 OBSERVATIONS IN 

wild grass. The dwellings of the Knssians in 
Iowa are, however, similar to our American 
houses. In some localities German schools are 
held in the Winter and the pupils are instructed 
in reading, writing and Bible stories. The 
studies of temperance, hygiene and civil govern- 
ment in these schools are unknown bat the 
English people make it compulsory. 

A VISIT TO THEIR CHURCHES. 

We see the Churches crowded, and services 
are held from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m., only stopping 
a short time at noon to attend to the horses. 
They bring a lunch with them which consists 
of a few dry crusts of bread and a bottle of 
coffee. The ladies and gentlemen do not sit 
together as is customary in more enlightened 
communities. No young man is allowed to 
escort a lady to or from Church unless engaged. 
The preaching is done by some good German 
farmer. 

The Russians eat on an average four meals 
per day. Breakfast, consisting of four cups of 
coffee without cream or sugar, and a few dr}^ 
biscuits without syrup or butter. For dinner 
the menu is coffee, rye bread and a large dish- 
pan full of cabbage which stands in the center 
of the table, to which each person reaches forth 
and eats out of the bowl with a spoon. Seldom 
a plate is used and if a person should ask for a 
napkin he would be ostracized from society be- 



THE NORTH-WEST. 7 

cause they think it would be simply for style 
and displeasing in the sight of God. At 4 
o'clock vesper is eaten which is similar to the 
breakfast. The fourth and main meal being at 
9 o'clock, consisting of the usual drink, coffee, 
wheat or rye bread, beef or pork, and potatoes. 
Oil special occasions they have a dish made of 
prunes, raisins and spices boiled in milk. They 
also pickle whole water-melons which are eaten 
for a lunch before retiring. The seeds of sun- 
flowers are eaten instead of pop corn, hickory- 
nuts and apples. 

All articles in and around the house are hand 
made. The bedsteads are merely a few boards 
nailed together, with hay instead of a mattress. 
This reminds me of a Russian's first experience 
in a hotel. After being assigned to his room, 
the night clerk told him to lock the door, or 
everything would be at his own risk; this 
seemed somewhat strange to the guest, but 
concluded to do as advised. So he hastened to 
bed for he had walked himself tired in visiting- 
places of interest. But lo! just as he sat on the 
bed the springs compressed and he was lowered 
nearly a foot. This frightened him so that he 
jumped into the middle of the floor. He next lit 
the lamp and began to scrutinize the place very 
carefully but could not see a trap door. After 
an hour ot meditation he concluded to let the 
light burn and get into bed easily, but sleep 



8 OBSERVATIONS IN 

had passed from him and in tlie morning he 
demanded an exphmation. 

The Norwegians are a little more cultured and 
live in better houses than the Russians. They 
dress like Americans and have churches of 
their own as have also the Danes, Swedes, 
Bohemians and Catholics. 

Many farmers who had such large crops of 
wheat and flax last year were unable to thresh 
all the grain and are busy at present threshing. 
It is a beautiful sight to see the large fields of flax 
when in bloom: for miles and miles a blue velvet 
lawn, as it were, presents itself to our view. 
Here is where I analyzed my first specimen of 
linum or flax. Prof. Gray gives the flax as an 
example of a perfect or typical flower. Prof. 
Wood finds one objection to the above by 
claiming that the pistils slightly cohere at their 
base. He gives the crassula as the type. 
The idea of type was undoubtedly conceis^ed 
before either the linum or crassula were cre- 
ated. It matters little whether found in 
enslaved Africa or free America, so we dis- 
cover through them the Author of Nature. 

The coldest weather we had was some 50° 
below zero. The air is, however, very dry and 
one scarcely believes it to be so cold until he 
looks at the thermometer, (which is usually 
graduated to 60° below zero.) Blizzards are 
frequent and dreaded by all. A few weeks ago 



THE NORTH-WEST. 9 

we liad our most severe blizzard. There was 
not much snow but the mercury fell so fast 
that one could observe it descending towards 
the bulb, I was about twenty miles from any 
town or village, on the open prairie. I had 
agreed to meet some of my fellow teachers in a 
pleasant country school, house (that is, it was 
very pleasant for ns.) For one day and a night 
we were sliut in by the howling storm and with 
nothing to eat, but the second evening we 
decided to face the elements. Picture, if you 
can, a crowd of ladies and gentlemen arm in 
arm, with handerchiefs tied over their faces, 
and one (myself) with a wooden pail over his 
head, and you have the negative. My nose and 
ears were frozen before Ave had gone live rods. 
AVe stopped at a n.eighbor's who was indeed 
very kind to accommodate us. This was a 
complete "freeze out," played by teachers. 

After having battled with the realities of life 
and visited many noted places in the Northwest 
the past fevv^ years, I started homeward from 
near Pipe Stone, in Southwestern Minnesota. 
Here is a ridge three miles long and twenty- 
five feet liig!], where the Indians used to con- 
gregate once a year and gather jasper for their 
pipes. They tlionght the place was sacred. 

We are now going towards the Twin City by 
the way of Minkato, x^assing through the 
country where the James-Younger gang used 



lo OBSERVATIONS IN 

to do their daring deeds. To the left a short 
■ distance is a frame house in Avhich Frank and 
Jesse James stayed all night after their raid on 
the Northfield Bank. This is also the site of 
the Sioux massacre of 1862. 

We are nearing Mankato, on the right bank 
of the Minnesota River. One of the three 
State Normal Schools is located here. 

There are high bluffs of stone used for build- 
ing purposes. A very valuable cement is also 
found here. Some of the varieties of timber 
along the Minnesota River are the red, swamp 
and rock elm; black, white and burr oak; 
spruce, fir and maple. Wild plums and mul- 
berries are abundant. Near Kesota is an im- 
mense cream colored stone quarry. The next 
town is St. Peters, a beautiful place near the 
Minnesota River. The First Hospital for the 
Insane is here as is also Gustavus Adolplius 
College, a Lutheran institution. 

A crowd of passengers are on board the train, 
some dressed very nicely, gentlemen with plug 
hats and Prince Albert coats. A young lady 
dressed in a long trailing silk is making herself 
rather conspicious; she is a special favorite 
with the conductor and some commercial men. 
At Ottawa a great pile of wood is corded to be 
shipped to homes on the prairies. For a few 
minutes I was talking to a gentleman about 
Fort Sisseton Reservation. He asked " Is there 



THE NORTH-WEST. ii 

good land there?" ''Yes sir, some excellent 
farming land, there are, however, many squat- 
ters there already who will liave the advantage 
of filing claims. There will be a grand rush to 
this place by both male and female. It will be 
opened about the fifteenth of next month." At 
the close of our conversation there was a little' 
excitement on the train as a man had been 
carried past his station and attempted to jump 
off, but was forced to remain until we reached 
Lesourd, the next station. The Superintendent 
of the road remarked, " I would not jump off of 
the train for ten dollars." Some smiled at his 
low estimation of life. 

A deep snow drift is in this place and the sec- 
tion men are out clearing it from the track and 
depot. The train rolled on. I judge this region 
is rather well-to-do as their country school 
houses are of stone and covered with shingles. 
" Merriam Junction," says the conductor. The 
Minneapolis division goes on the west side of 
the river and the St. Paul road on the east. 
The fields are covered with large boulders left 
to remind the tourist that he is passing through 
a region where glaciers once existed. ''We will 
soon see Fort Snelling," says my friend. I had 
frequently seen the picture and when I was 
busy recalling from memory the image, he said, 
" There it is." Many passengers crowded to 
the windows to see the real, as it is more 



12 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



impressive than tougne or pen can describe or 
portray. There are man}^ buildings. From 
one the Stars and Stripes are making gentle 
curves in the breeze. Regiments of militia are 
constantly kept here to quell troubles as the 
one witnessed with our red brothers this winter- 
In 1823 the first Sunday School in Minnesota 
was held within the white walls of the Old 
Fort. 

We are now nearing St. Paul. On our right 
are clifts of sand stone 150 feet high, while on 
the left flows the Mississippi River. We pass 




this beautiful scenery and the conductor calls 
out ''Western Junction." A number of pas- 
sengers alight. I look out for a moment and 
see that the sun is sinking. The train moves 
on aaain and now the clifts are on the left. We 



THE NORTH-WEvST. 13 

pass under several long bridges wliicli are built 
across our track: tliese seem to be thirty feet 
above us. On tlie bridges are rows of electric 
lights in forms ot arches which look like so 
many stars placed in scores of rain bows. Arriv- 
ing at the depot everybody is in a rush. Busses 
and cabs are in readiness for the passengers. 
St. Paul, the capital, has a population oi 140,000. 
Nearly two hundred passenger trains leave in a 
day. After supper I started to visit the city, it 
was, however, too cold to stay out long. The 
people are energetic and industrious; one nice 
feature I noticed was that they use magic 
lanterns to advertise their business at night. 

In order to get a view of the interior of the 
Grand Opera House, I concluded to go and 
see " The Danger Signal," a railroad play, 
however, not noticeably demoralizing. The 
building is rightly named " The Grand." It has 
a seating capacity of 3,000. Several hundred 
electric lights are formed into arches, stars and 
shapes of all kinds: The orchestra discoursed 
some very excellent music, in fact the best I 
had heard since leaving the University in the 
East. Tlie people were dressed tastefully and 
almost all had opera glasses. Quite a contrast 
to the people in the Southwestern part of the 
Stale. I now returned to the hotel. The next 
morning I started for the Capitol. It is a beau- 
tiful building. The Governor's room was first 



i4 OBSERVATlONvS IN 

visited but he had liot yet arrived: leaving 
this place and visiting the rest of the Exe- 
cutive Departments, I went up stairs to the 
Legislative Halls. The Senate has forty-seven 
members and the Representatives are one 
hundred and three. The Historical Societv, 
which is in the basement, was next visited. The 
first question I asked the Librarian w^as, "How 
many volumes are in the library ? '' 

" Thirty-two thousand. Are you a stranger 
here ? '' 

" Yes sir." 

" Would you like to see our relics ? There are 
some things you will not see in other States." 

" It will aftbrd me great pleasure to examine 
them." 

"All right, just step to the rear of the room." 

On arriving there I noticed a relic called the 
Old St. Paul Post-oifice. It had sixteen pigeon- 
holes and a shelf for papers, this had been used 
as late as 1849. Forty-three years has made 
quite a change. The next was the scalp and 
arm bones of Little Crow, the hair was as black 
as the feathers of a crow; a piece of the house 
of the first victim of the Sioux Massacre, 1862; 
a pre-historic water jug found in Cross County, 
Arkansas; a pipe smoked by Chippewa Chief, 
"Hole-in-the-Da}';" an Indian chain made from 
twisted bison haii*; a watch chain made of hair 
from Chas-ka-dcin, a Sioux hung at Mankato., 



THE NORTH-WRvST. 15 

December 2C)tli, 18G2; an ornament made by 
Sitting Bull — it was intended for a cane; head 
of newel post from stairway in the. old Pro- 
vincial Government of Massachusetts built in 
16o4. The wood was still in good condition ; 
bomb shells used at. final storming of St. Paul 
^' Ice Palace," January 27th, 1887; pieces of the 
original Atlantic Cable, laid in 1858; hand-cuffs 
worn by Henry Jvriegler, hung at Albert Lea, 
March, 1861, and buried with his body nineteen 
years; a, quill of a bald eagle; an ornamented 
pen holder made from the femur of a Sioux; 
Indian bows and arrows; a cane made from the 
scaffold on which thirty eight Indian murderers 
were hung, 1862, at Mankato, also a rope used 
in the execution; a small button made from the 
Flag Ship " Lawrence," sunk in Erie Harbor, 
September 10th, 1813; bones of Mound Build- 
ers, found at White Bear Lake; Dakota medicine 
charm, a piece of wood cut in the shape of a 
snake. 

CABINET NO. 2. 

The first relic is a revolver from the body of 
Clel. 'Miller, one of the James-Younger gang, a 
self cocker, center fire and 41 caliber. A linen 
duster worn by one of the gang at the raid on 
the First National Bank of Northfield, Sept. 
7th, 1876. It had been worn to conceal the 
weapons and had been dropped in the bank as 
was also a sack in wdiicli they intended to put 



i6 OBSERVATIONvS IN 

the money, but did not get an}^; a cubical box 
used for drafting men into the Union army; a 
British saber captured at Yorktown; a Rebel 
bowie knife; a grape shot of brass and copper, 
from the battle-field of Cliapiiltepec, Mexico, 
September 13th, 1847; collection of minerals 
from near Leadville, Colorado; native cloth 
from Samoan Island; a provision basket from 
Fiji Ishmds; a small piece of flag of Morgan's 
Rifle Company of the Revolutionary war. 

I now w^alked up stairs again to the Gover- 
nor's room and this time he was present. An 
attendant introduced us and we had a very 
nice chat. Before leaving he presented me 
with his photograpli and wrote on it, 
Faithfully Yours, 

William Merriam. 

From here I returned to the Senate Chamber 
for a short time in hopes of gathering a few 
notes. The Grain Inspectors were to meet but 
only half of them were present and they were 
talking politics more than business. One 
gentleman remarked that the State w^ould go 
12,000 Alliance. Another gentleman said I he 
Republicans were loosing their hold. The ma- 
jority thought that the Democrats would stand 
a good show this year. One said, ''In fact all 
the Northwest and the South are for Cleveland," 

I now leave the Capitol and take a street car 
for Minneapolis. To my right are two fine 



THE NORTH-WEvST. 17 

residences, one belonging to the Governor and 
the other to his father. Farther on are two 
hirge brick buihlings where fallen women are 
cared for by the Catholic Sisters. The place is 
called the House of Good Shepherds. Still a 
little farther on the same side is Hamlein 
University, a Methodist institution. There are 
three large buildings, one a massive white 
stone structure in which the sciences are taught. 
I'o the left is McAlister College, a Presbyterian 
institution. It is located on a slight elevation 
which gives them a beautiful campus. They 
have two large buildings. 

We now near the Minnesota Transter, many 
buildings are here, one 1,500 feet long. Two hun- 
dred and fifty men are employed to transfer 
freight to all parts of the Union and Canada. 
The street car shed is the next on the left, a 
large white building where seventy cars are 
kept. This is directl}^ between St. Paul and 
Minneapolis. A little farther on is an Academy. 
A few more minutes ride and we are in the 
center of the metropolis. I next boarded the 
cars for the far famed and beautiful resort, 
Minnehaha Falls. The Washburn A Mills was 
the next object in sight on this route. The 
Minnehaha Driving Park is also passed. There 
are not manj^ passengers on the car and some 
are constantly leaving as we approach their 
homes. Towards the end of the five mile trip 



i8 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



only one passenger, a gentleman, and myself 
were on the car. AVe started for the Falls to- 
getlier. In another moment we stood gazing 
on the t^^pe of the beautiful, the sparkling 
water makes a parabolic curve and leaps over 
the precipice into a cup-shaped basin sixt\^ feet 
below. From here it goes between cliffs laugh- 
ing and playing until it reaches the Minnesota 
River. The gentleman said he frequent]}^ vis- 
ited the resort and in the Summer would get 
back of the falls to listen to the sweet music 
which sounded, he said, " Like sweet music of 

Angels." At present 
the water is some 
lower than in the 
Summer. I ventured 
to secure a few stones 
from the very edge 
of the precipice in 
which I succeeded, 
but the gentleman 
told me it was a dar- 
-^^ ingleat, andit tooka 
man of nerve, "For a 
man some five j^ears 
ago tried the same 
fea t and lost his life." 
In the summer time 
crowds picnTc°ln the woods where only six 
vQ-ars.ago four wigwams were still standing. 




THE NORTH-WEvST. 19 

I next examined the stones of the cliffs and 
saw that they are sand stone of various colors. 
The predominatinii; colors are those of the rain 
bow. This resort is frequently visited by students 
far and near and is the most famous falls in the 
worUl. Another view is taken of Fort Snelling, 
which is close to the falls, and a last glance is 
given the cascade as a car is entered for the 
Union depot. Arriving there I learn that 
twenty lines ot railroad connect this city with 
the outer world. 

The Mississippi lumber scene is the next at- 
traction. The logs are floated down from the 
northern part of the state to be sawed by the 
score of mills. Millions of dollars' worth of 
wood floats down the river annually. 

Let us next visit St. Anthony Falls. This 
has a water fall vastly greater than the Minne- 
haha. It is estimated to have a water power 
equal to 135,600 horse power and can run thirty 
mills. It descends gradually to a depth of 
twenty feet. 

After seeing those giant mills I thought I 
would like to visit at least one and see the in- 
terior. S) I staited towards the Pillsbury, 
Washburn & Co.'s world renowned mill. I 
however visited several other places on my way 
as they couhl hardly be passed by unnoticed. 
The Minneapolis Exposition building, which 
was erected May 26th, 1886, is passed through 



20 OBSERVATIONS IN 

first. It is an enormous structure, and the 
place is being remodeled at a cost ot $10,000 to 
accommodate the Republican National (-on- 
vention which is to convene here this 'year. 
They will undoubtedly '' have plenty of room " 
and to spare. Nice asbestos stone walks are in 
front of the building. 

The Century Piano Factory is visited next. 
They have a capital of $500,000 and manu- 
facture the high grade Mehliii piano. A news- 
paper man from Oregon and myself were ushered 
from attic to cellar, after we had taken the 
elevator for the fifth floor. Here were several 
rooms in which were completed pianos. The 
gentleman played on several instruments to 
tone them for us. I could not see why he had 
brought us up here at first but it soon dawned 
on my mind that he was following the analytic 
process and noticed that had he proceeded the 
opposite we would have had a vague idea of the 
complex mechanism of a piano. The varnish- 
ing department is next visited where seven 
coats are applied. " How many pianos do you 
turn out in a week ? " " We average fifteen. 
You see this, gentlemen," continued he, " This 
is a patented muffler to keep children and 
grown people from constantly beating on the 
piano without locking it." 

In another department we examined many 
varieties of mahogany of difi"erent colors from 



THE NORTH-WEST. 21 

San Domingo. As we were passing to a lower 
room I asked him tlie price of his pianos. 
''The prices vary from -1^400 to ^500." In an- 
other department a score of men are gluing the 
ribs on the sounding boards with bent staves 
propped up to the ceiling. This exerts a great 
pressure to the square foot on the sounding 
board. 

The veneering process is next witnessed. 
Thin slices of mahogany are placed one upon 
the other with glue between them until the 
desired thickness is obtained. These boards 
are then dried in an oven. 

Many other departments Avere passed through 
where keys, wires and other pieces were manu- 
factured. On reaching the lower floor I asked: 
"How many hands do 3'ou employ?" 

" We try to keep the number at 125." 
"" Every w^eek," continued he, " We pay them 
$1,500. Now let us go to the engine room." 
In the engin^ room was a 150 horse power 
engine at work. We thanked the gentleman 
for his kindness in showing us around and my 
friend from Oregon went to the depot and I 
kept on my route. 

The Union Iron Works were visited next. 
There are two large buildings and several de- 
partments in each building. The heavy w^ork 
is done on the first floor while on the second, 
the light work and carpentering. One hun- 



22 OBSERVATIONS IN 

dred and fifty men are employed. It would 
take an expert in this line to see the whys and 
wherefores, so about all I could do was to pass 
through and brush the fiying cinders from my 
eyes. It was nearing the hour of six and I has 
tened toward the Pillsbury- Washburn mill. Af- 
ter receiving a pass, and registering, I stepped 
on the elevator and was sent to the sixth story. 
Here are thousands of machines run by innum- 
erable cogs and the din was deafening. I started 
dow^n a spiral stairs near the centre of the build- 
ing to the fifth floor, but I did not feel quite at 
ease yet as the thought came to me, suppose an 
alarm of fire would be given, where would I be ? 
Just then I noticed several chemical fire engines 
with long rubber hose attached. This gave me 
some courage. I noticed hundreds of Holt's 
purifiers at work. Each department is well 
illuminated with electric lights. I pass down 
to the fourth floor and one circle of the 
spiral stairs is made. At the foot was a door, I 
suppose to shut off the sound from above. I 
hardly knew whether to pass through or not, as 
I did not wish to enter only where I was wel- 
come, however, I opened the door and saw that 
I was on the right road. I did not stay on the 
fourth and third floors long as the scene was 
only changed a little by having larger machines 
and my nerves were strung to the highest pitch 
trying to dance to the rattling of the cogs. 



THE NORTH-WEST. 23 

On the second lloor is the packing depart- 
ment. Here are stacks of sacks and piles of 
barrels, nian}^ filled with the choicest Hour. The 
first floor is the grinding room where 9,500,000 
bushels of wheat are ground in a year. This is 
the largest mill in the world and is the eighth 
wonder. When I arrived at the door I observ- 
ed that my Prince Albert had turned into a 
'• miller's coat." 

Returning to the hotel I ate a hearty supper, 
after which I read the daily papers for a short 
time. I then visited the museum. Here I 
made the acquaintance of a conductor on the 
Northern Pacific. We were standing near a 
large moose and two deers when I asked him if 
he had ever visited the Black Hills. 

"No," says he, "but 1 have seen many of 
these animals in Wyoming and Montana." 

AVhen was you in W^yoming? 

" Last Fall. I had a very narrow escape from 
a moose on.ce, and I will tell it to 3^ou if you 
wish to hear it. I have frequently told it to 
newspaper men but they never get it just as it 
happened. If you will take it down in short- 
hand, I will give it just as it occurred." 

All right, you have found your man this time. 
But this reminds me also of a moose hunt I 
witnessed once. 

" Well, you being the older, tell your story 
first." 



24 OBSERVATlONvS IN 

Thank yon; I will then lay the tablet aside 
and proceed. Last Fall I started from Prairie 
Junction, in the south-western part of the state, 
to visit Salt Lake City and the National Park, 
in Wyoming, passing through Sioux Falls where 
I met a former school-mate just making a for- 
tune in the law business. From here I went to 
Yankton, S. Dakota, and down to Sioux City, 
visiting the Corn Palace which was quite a treat. 

"Then I judge you went to Omaha, Neb., for 
you see things there which are truly wonder- 
ful ? " 

Yes sir, but did not remain there long enough 
to visit all the places of interest. However, 1 
visited the smelting works which are the largest 
in the world. 

" The Union Pacific terminates here." 

Yes. 

" I used to work on that road also." 

From here I took the train running through 
Northern Nebraska and noticed many nice 
pvairie farms, with sod houses, some of which 
were country school houses. When I arrived 
at the south-western part of South Dakota my 
attention was attracted by the Bad Lands, which 
are large hills of petrified wood, wrought into 
all imaginable shapes. I now determined to 
visit the Black Hills, for I had heard and read 
of them for a score of years. I ascended the 
highest peak, called Harney's Peak, which has 



THE NORTH- WlvST. 25 

an elevation of about 8,000 feet. All kinds of 
minerals are found, incdiiding silver and gold. 
A great efibrt is being made to develop the tin 
mines. Some of the building materials found 
are marble, g3^psnm and sand stone. This is a 
splendid place to study the science of Geology. 
I gathered specimen rocks from tlie Eozoic era 
down to the Age of Man. I could talk for a 
long time about the different ages and systems, 
l)ut I wish to get at the moose story. "That is 
just what I am patiently waiting for.'* I am 
almost to the place, so leaving the Black Hills 
I passed over to Wyoming through the place 
where Custer had his last engagement with the 
Indians, and on towards the Big Horn Moun- 
tains where my hunt is located. 

I went out one day with a number of scouts 
and railroad men to enjo}^ a hunt. " Well you 
enjoyed it I suppose" remarked my friend, 
laughing. Yes sir, better than one of our com- 
pany. One ot the rules was that each person 
should have three shots. The one being closes 
to the game should have the first chance. There 
was a young m-m — in fact you resemble him 
some — well 1 l)C'lieve you are the gentleman; 1 
thought I recognized the face. "Well, proceed. 
It is nice to hear some one else relate our own 
misfortunes. You will not need the short hand 
in this case as the facts are indelibl}^ fixed in 
your memory." All right I will proceed and 



26 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



make it short. You watch whether I tell it 
co^l•ectl3^ We w^ere to have lliree shots — you 
fired at a passing deer and killed it. Yes, we 
liad fresh venison for dinner. Then all at once 
the hound began to bark as if certain death 
was near, you became somewhat excited and 
fired your second shot just as a loud '' Mu '' 
sounded over the hill. Instead of aiming at 

the oncom- 
ing moose 
you shot th^ 
dog. In an- 
o t her i n - 
s t a n t the 
moose was 
rushing to- 
wards you 
and you fired 
your third 
shot which 
pierced its 
shoulder 
blade. This 
only enraged 
the beast and you swung yourself out of danger 
by catching an overlumging limb when I fired 
my first shot which, however, did not seem to 
pacify his mind. So the animal backed a few 
steps from the tree and ran forward with snch 
a speed and striking the tree such a blow as 




THE NORTH-WEST. ^ 27 

to cause 3^011 to loose your liold and you fell 
directly ill front of the enraged moose which 
was attempting to gore you, when a second ball 
from my ritle pierced its heart. 

" Yes, that was a close call for me. You re- 
member we started back together on the brancli 
to Cheyenne and I had to make m}" run the 
next day towards the coast." Yes, and I started 
to Denver, Colorado, and down to Colorado 
Spi'ings; then taking the road through Lead- 
ville, passing the Mountains of the Holy Cross, 
iinally entering Utah, and remaining a few days 
in Salt Lake City. 

One of the principal features here are the 
Mormons. "Did you visit the Salt Lake?" Yes 
sir I I learned the lake had an area of 3,000 
square miles and the water varied in depth 
from 12 to TO feet. There are also shrimps and 
different kinds of insects to be found in the 
water. I thought I would take a bath in the 
saline water for I had frequently heard that a 
person could not drown in salt water. But I 
found that unless a person knew enough about 
the invigorating exercise, he would not lloat 
like an e^ii, — but his head would be in the water 
and his feet in the air, which would not be a 
very agreeable atlitude for any length of time. 
I also noticed a perceptible dryness of the at- 
mosphere which explains the rapid evaporation 
which is observed in*this region. 



28 OBSERVATIONS IN 

The capital has a present population of 45,000. 
Here, I was told, lived a Methodist minister 
who was a school-mate of mine. If I do not 
stop soon, we will not see much of the museum 
tonight. "Go on and tell about the rest of the 
trip; where did you go from Salt Lake City?" 
I went north through Idaho, then to Butte 
City, Montana, and visited tlie great smelting 
establishments, found here. Such billows of 
smoke issue from the numerous smelters that 
it is disagreeable at times to live here. 

Next I went southwards towards the Park. 
It has an area of 3,600 square miles and reaches 
an elevation of 12,000 feet. The place has been 
set apart by Congress as a National resort. The 
Yellowstone Lake was visited which has an 
elevation of one and one-half miles above the 
sea level. 

The falls and Grand Canon were also visited. 
1 next went to the head waters of the Madison 
River, Vvhich rises in the Park, and viewed some 
of the noted geysers, arriving just in time to 
see the Giant, the most remarkable as well as 
the most popular, send up boiling streams to 
the height of 140 feet. The best comi)arison 
I can make is, it looked like a gas well when it 
is " shot," and the mud and water is forced up- 
wards by the dynamite. 

I met several Indians in this part of the state, 
but none oilered to take my scalp. A few 



TIIK NORTH-WEST. 29 

bison and many antelopes are seen in this 
vicinity. 

I now take the Northern Pacific and pass 
through the Crow Reservation in Montana. 
Farther on, near the boundary of Montana and 
North Dakota, is the Mandan Indian Reserva- 
tion. 

''What is your conclusion concerning the 
present Indians ? " 

To say the least, the}" are not savage nor 
fierce if the whites deal with them fairly. 

I saw some out farming and trying to earn 
their own living. 1 visited a camj) and must 
acknowledge that many were more civilized 
than the whites. 

The squaws and children were keeping the 
birds away from the ripened grain, a few were 
reading, while some of the young men were 
amusing themselves horse back riding and shoot- 
ing mark. 

Ever}^ young lady, when she arrives at a cer- 
tain age, has a pet dog, so in this respect she is 
up to the standard of civilization (?) 

A short time was spent in Bismarck and I 
then started for the south-western part of Min- 
nesota, to engage in teaching. "Let us look 
around here a few moments and see what thej^ 
have,'' said my friend. 

All right, here is a lady snake charmer. The 
next attraction were cages of monkeys, squirrels 



30 OBSERVATIONS IN 

and birds. The former for some reason can al- 
ways hold an audience. The next was a middle 
aged lady with whiskers long enough for the 
breeze to play with them. The next was a 
scout with long hair reaching down to his back. 
It was very interesting to liear him talk about 
his adventures. We now leave the museum and 
are on the street again. 

After a dozen unsuccessful attempts to find a 
church where we might go and listen to some- 
thing elevating, we gave up in despair and fol- 
lowed the crowd. We soon learned that they 
were not the class who attend churches but typ- 
ical theatre goers. On arriving at the Hall, I 
managed to get a glimpse of the interior and 
took in the situation at a glance. On the stage 
were eleven rather respectably dressed women, 
surrounded by the stars and stripes. While the 
audience, men and women alike, were drinking 
and smoking cigars and cigarettes. 

My friend and I concluded that this Avas not 
the place for enlightened American citizens, 
and to not insult the flag with our presence, so 
we started for the hotel. 

In the morning I took an early train back to 
St. Paul. Before starting I thought I would 
Ijurchase a tablet so that I might take notes on 
the way, as my old one was completely filled. 
I entered every drug and stationery store for 
blocks but could not find a tablet. In fact one 



THE NORTH-WKwST. 31 

dealer liad tlie courage to ask what tliey were. 
1 was (in ally directed to a book- bindery. 

On arriving at the place I saw one small tab- 
let lying on the shell and asked the proprietor 
whether he kept tablets for sale, lie looked at 
nie as though he had a curious customer for once, 
and said "Yes sir; do you wish to buy some?'' 
Well, are you doing a wholesale or retail busi- 
ness^ For my part I would be contented to get 
one or a piece of paper. "Here is one; will this 
suit you? It has been used some but there are 
still many leaves in the back part." All right, 
what is it worth? 

"I guess you can take it along for ten cents." 
I thanked him for his two cent tablet and re- 
marked that had I a few more moments time I 
would go over to Minneapolis and purchase a 
dozen and present them to the dealers as relics. 

After purchasing a ticket to Madison, Wis. 
for $7.80 and getting my trunk and valise 
checked, all is in readiness and soon I am going 
again. 

The first city of interest is Northfield, which 
has a population of 3,300. It is beautifull}^ lo- 
cated in the valley of the Cannon river. Carle- 
ton college has a large observatory and fur- 
nishes standard time to the North-west. 

As we approach Faribault the surface be- 
comes more uneven, but the city itself is located 
on a delta on the east side of the Straight river. 



32 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



Its population is 6,500. The several asylums 
for the Blind, Deaf and Imbecile are located 
here. The Seabnry Divinity School, also a St- 
Mary's Hall are located in the city. 

The fruit boy is coming with apples. They 
are almost a curiosity to me; an ordinary sized 
apple costs 5 cents. A large crowd of passen- 
gers are on the train. As we near Owatonna 
some students alight to attend the Academy.. 
The town is about the size of Northfield. Many 
visitors are attracted bv the medical springs. 
Farther on I noticed a barn yard filled with 




cattle, sheep and sv/ine, the braver ones 
venturing out to nip the first blades of grass in 
the bright sunlight of the coming Spring. 
We are now at Ramsey. The conductor 



THE NORTH-WEST. 33 

says '' Take car ahead; 20 minutes for dinner." 
i recall to memory that I passed tliroiiir:li this 
region last Summer from Milwaukee to La 
C^rosse westward. I arrived in the latter city as 
the sun was setting. 

The first place I visited was the " Father of 
AVaters." I took a seat on the left bank of the 
river and was filled with joy at the beautiful 
scene as I looked across the water westward. 
The sinking sun still sparkling in the slowly 
llowing water and across on the right bank 
were the beautiful green prairies and forests of 
Minnesota while around me were tall, massive 
buildings reflecting the last rays of sunlight 
from Wisconsin soil, back to the boats afloat on 
the bosom of the great river. After sui)per I 
visited the city which has a population of 25,000. 
At about midnight the train left for the West 
passing almost the whole distance a little north 
of Iowa. One of the passengers was a lady 
wdio was going to Spring Valley. She claimed 
to be a Christian Scientist. When the train 
arrived at Winnebago the day was dawning 
and from tlieio on towards Pipe Stone many 
nice prairie homes were passed. Along the 
Des Moines river is grand scenery. 

Jackson, the county seat of Jackson county, 
is located in a valley with a ridge surrounding- 
it, so that a person can scarcely see the town 
from the train. As I neared Prairie Junction I 



34 OBSERVATlONvS IN 

concluded that the place was rightly named 
'' Prairie Junction," for several prairies seemed 
to be joined together. The lake Ave see from 
the Junction is Heron Lake where the sports- 
men can enjoy sliooting wild geese which are 
so numerous on the water that they give it the 
appearance of a large feather bed. Ducks, 
gulls and prairie chickens are also very numer- 
ous; in fact they obscure the sun and protect 
the farmers from becoming sun struck. Fishes 
of all kinds can be caught here without bait. 
The tishermen merel}^ walk to the edge of the 
w^ater where they are patiently waiting to be 
picked up. Many wolves and badgers are 
found but they are not very savage. Some call 
this •' the land of the plentiful " but it is better 
known to me as the ''Blue grass Valley;" that 
is, a person gets the '' blues " for coming to the 
" grass valley." After arriving at the Junction 
I continued on my route westward, through 
Sioux Falls, but passed through this region 
again iu a week on my way to the college. 

As I was waiting for a train to take me to 
the college, in which I was employed as in- 
structor in the sciences, I beheld a small dark 
cloud, as it were, in the distance; the blackness 
came nearer and nearer and to niy surprise dis- 
covered that what I supposed to be a cloud 
proved to be millions of crows. They kept up 
their flight westward for two hours and were so 



THE NORTH- WKvST. 35 

thick that their wings over-lapped like shingles 
on a roof. 

I soon arrived at my place of duty. The Col- 
lege, if we may so call it, is located in a little 
country town in the " Blue grass Valley." On 
alighting at the station I noticed that the post- 
office was in the same room with the telegraph 
office, and going in inquired for the allwise 
})rincipal. I was told b}^ the post master that 
he was here cancelling stamps. After a short 
time we started in a farm wagon to the college 
l)uildings. 

I noticed two buildings, one a small dorma- 
tory for the boys and the other was used tor 
various purposes. In the basement was the 
kitchen, on the first floor a few school rooms 
and bed room for some of the teachers, also a 
music hall 8 by 10 feet. On the second floor is 
the ladies' department, while on the third floor 
a few store boxes are arragned and labeled 
"College bank,'' "Post office." I was finally 
assigned a room in the dormatory so that I 
could watch the boys and keep them under 
subjection. The school was run on the Charles 
Dickens plan, more of the latter than Charles. 

While here I held the following honorable 
positions, in their order : First instructor, then 
.janitor, librarian, hostler and farmer. 

I remember one da}' I made the statement 
that in agricultural colleges wheat was being 



36 OBSERVATIONS IN 

planted like corn and the experiment proves 
that a larger yield is produced, and tlie grains 
larger and more plump. The Avould-be i)ro- 
fessors only hooted at the idea and remarked, 
" no one is foolish enough to believe this." I 
was surprised that they were a hall century 
behind the times but soon noticed the cause for 
this, for when I visited the library to read up 
some late articles, which I was in hopes of find- 
ing, I only found a few old magazines which 
had been preserved as relics, from their school 
days. The meals consisted of decayed fish, 
•' treacle," and butter so strong that it had the 
power to change from a yellow to a light blue 
color. 

There were some fifty shoats running around 
the yard which Avould enter the kitchen where 
the potatoes and vegetables were kept. After 
the pigs had selected the best, the rest were 
prepared for the students. The farmer presi- 
dent believes in putting the theory into practice 
immediately : e. g , if the word ''jack rabbit" 
comes up in the class, he immediately sends 
them out on a jack rabbit hunt, so when a 
dozen are caught he will have an excuse to go 
to town, a distance of ten miles, which usually 
takes up the rest of the day. 

The twenty minutes are up and the train is 
moving towards Austin. I^everal railroads 
center here. It has a j)opulation of 2,509 and 



THK NORTH-WEST. 37 

is located on the lied Cedar river which affords 
excellent water power. 

Two students, a lady and gentleman, who 
are sitting two seats back of me are talking 
about some literary and criticizing their super- 
iors. The lady uses the phrase, "that is fun,'' 
very frequently. " The boys could not hetch 
him/' says the gentleman. 

We now pass by a nice farm house with ever- 
greens on both sides of the road leading to the 
house. Many wind and snow breaks are along 
the track. A big black dog is running out from 
a farm house to bark at the passing train. We 
now pass a white, frame Norwegian church. A 
small town is passed where nothing of import- 
ance could be seen only a dozen men and boys 
standing at the depot passing away their pre- 
cious moments by cutting tobacco chips. A 
lady to my right is reading a novel. Two seats 
in front of me is a rather good looking young 
lady, dark curly hair, and wearing a white face 
veil. At Leroy the gentleman student alights. 
He gives a final pleasant look, tips his hat and 
all is over. 

We are now crossing the Minnesota and Iowa 
line. Lime Spring is a beautiful small village. 
Several loaded wagons with liour are stand- 
ing at the station. There is also a nice race 
track near the edge of the town. On the bluff, 
to the left, is a cemetery. Instead of having a 



38 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



" blue and gray " aj)pearance it looks " green 
and white." Cresco is a nice town with many 
beautiful structures. The lady student alighted 
here. The ground in this vicinity is level. 

The train is running so swiftly that shorthand 
can not be used, in fact my long hand writing is 
unusually long. Conover is a railroad junction. 
The lady who was reading the nov^el got off here. 
Almost all the passengers who got on at St. Paul 
have alighted but myself and the lady with the 
white veil. She has now changed one seat nearer 
to me. A fire along the track is sending np a 
cheering blaze as we pass by, while on the op- 
posite side of the track lie high snow drifts. 

At Calmar several exchanged cars for Fayette 
to attend school. A gentleman tells me that 
we are now in Cla}^ county, Iowa. After pass- 




THE NORTH-WEST. 39 

inn; a few more small vstations we near one of 
the most beautiful re«iions of the North-west. 
Every one is waking up to see the natural scen- 
ery. The lady in front and m^^self have started 
up a conversation. A gentleman sitting back 
of me tapped me on the shoulder and said ''Do 
you see those clilTs yonder'^ In a few moments 
we will pass through there. Here is where 
Black Hawk was caught.'' Another elderly gen- 
tleman said "This is where JeiT. Davis made his 
elopement with his future wife." 

Wei], says I, we can't blame them, for it is 
certainly a very romantic place. H' I had half 
a chance I would try it myself; at this we all 
had a hearty laugh and we felt more at ease. 
Even the ladj^, who was very modest and re- 
served, smiled an approval. The elderly gen- 
tleman said ''The train used to run so slow when 
the soldiers returned from the war that they 
would stop to saw wood and let the car get 
ahead then catch it again." 

We now pass through bluffs of lime stone 
300 ft. high. "McGregor," calls out the conduc- 
tor. As soon as the train stopped I ran to the 
closest bluii' and broke oif a small fragment to 
keep as a relic. I fired one shot at the over- 
h inging bluff merely imagining an Indian hid- 
ing behind the rocks. After passing a tri- 
angular building, used as a dei)Ot, we start- 
ed to cross the Mississippi river, which is about 



40 OBSERVATIONS IN 

18 feet deep at this point and one-half mile 
wide. There is an old i^ontoon bridge to the 
left of the one on which we were. I fired a sec- 
ond shot in the river below in memory of De 
Soto, although the honor of discovering this 
mighty river is given by some to Alonzo de 
Pineda, a Spaniard, who, in 1519, sailed up its 
mouth and visited some of the villages along 
its shores and traded with the natives. A steam 
boat, the City of McGregor, was resting on the 
bosom of this renowned river. 

A few rods to the left of the old bridge lies a 
beautiful small island; at her landing stood an 
ice bound steamer. Arriving at Prairie du 
Chien I took supper at the Sherman House and 
had the best meal I ever had in the West for 
25 cents. 

At the table sat an old gentleman who had 
lived in the city ever since the time the mail 
had been carried by post to St. Paul. He could 
tell interesting things about the Black Hawk 
war, Jeff. Davis, Pres. Tyler, for he had known 
all of them. He said Jeft\ Davis and Tyler were 
at the Fort with the soldiers, Davis being an of- 
ficer under Tyler. The young officer fell in 
love with Tyler's daughter, but his attentions 
paid to the lady were not approved of by Mr. 
Tyler. So the young soldier concluded to set a 
night and elope with his lady. She had been 
kept in the house on the second story for a long 



THE NOUTH-WEST. 41 

time, but Davis was not to be outgeneraled in 
this style, so he employed two Indians to bring 
two boats and wait until he should return. In 
the meantime Davis went to Tyler's residence 
and assisted her to descend by means of ropes. 
They were then rowed to a minister's and mar- 
ried. This event disturbed the confidence of 
Tyler in Davis and for a long time he was not 
recognized by Tyler as his son-in-law. 

Some time after this event Davis was fight- 
ing the Indians and won, not only a laurel for 
himself, but for the nation. He received the 
praise of his father-in-law, who concluded 
that Davis was a better judge of human nature 
than himself. After this they became firm 
friends. 

Black Hawk was captured near Broad-ax as 
he was trying to cross the Mississippi river. 

After supper, as the shades of darkness were 
gathering around, like a dark pall, enshrouding 
the historic monument of nature and the un- 
numbered tombs of friend and foe, I cast a last 
glance across the "Father of Waters," Mc- 
Gregor and the "Hawkeye State." 

Prairie du Chien has a population of 4,000. 
The town is older than Philadelphia but has no 
manufactories and consequently the rising 
generations go to other cities for employment. 
A Catholic college is located here. 

I now take the train for Madison, Wisconsin, 



42 OBSERVATIONS IN 

Not much of interest is seen on this route as it 
is night and the moon did not make her ap- 
pearance until a late hour. We passed through 
Wanzeka, a small village, about 8 p. m. We next 
passed through Spring Green, a beautiful little 
town which makes a nice picture as the rising 
moon is coming over the ridge and welcomed 
by the baying of the village dogs. The news 
agent, who seemed a good young man, sat down 
by my side and we passed the next hour 
in relating our hardships and finally ended 
up with our travels. " We learn a great 
deal by traveling," says he, " Not so much 
book knowledge but when a person has 
traveled extensively and met all classes of 
people, he generally can make a living tor him- 
self." Yes, in my judgment there is a great 
deal of benefit derived in traveling, especially 
if one observes closely. Would you like to 
hear of my recent trip to the North-west ? 

" Yes sir, I would be pleased to hear it." 

Well, a few weeks ago I started from near 
Fort Sisseton Reservation, up to Winnipeg, Man- 
itoba, Canada. Do you know what Manitoba 
means? "No sir." Well, it is an old Indian 
name and the Sioux, or Dakotas, called it 
Minne-topa, meaning the four waters or lakes 
Winnipegosis, Winnipeg, St. Martin, Manitoba. 
Here I noticed man}^ foreigners, especially 
Russians. The soil produces the best crops of 



THE NORTH-WEST. 43 

wheat in the world. Winnipeg, the capital, has 
a population of 22,000. It is sometimes called 
the " Gate City of the North-west." I now 
started to the coast on the Canada Pacific. 

There are many nice prairie homes in Assini- 
))oia and Alberta. The Indians are in the ma- 
jority over the whites, of which the Black Feet 
tribes are the more numerous. In this region 
are still seen forts where a fur trade is carried 
on svitli the Hudson Bay Company. The 
Indians and Creoles exchange the skins of 
beavers, minks and foxes for the necessaries and 
luxuries of life. 

Entering British Columbia one beholds beau- 
tiful scenery. In passing the Selkirk Mountains 
'' the loop," is the i)rincipal attraction. Large 
quantities of gold, silver and lead are found 
in the Frazer Valley. There are still unex- 
plored regions near the Avaters of this river and 
on northward. 

Arriving at Vancouver Island I took a ship, 
passing by Victoria, the capital of British Co- 
lumbia, through Juan de Fuca strait, out on the 
Pacific Ocean, headed for Sitka, Alaska. This 
was a pleasant trip as the climate was not so 
severe as I had anticipated for the tempera- 
ture is modified by the warm current from 
Japan. 

Good accommodations were had at rather 
exorbitant rates. Most of the time we were 



44 OBSERVATIONS IN 

sailing close to the Canadian shore and nothing 
of unusual interest was observed until we were 
nearing Prince of Wales Island where a few 
grizzly bears were noticed on the coast. Just 
before we arrived at Sitka an interesting spec- 
tacle presented itself to our view. There were 
two small boats a short distance from us and 
we could hear the men shouting to each other 
through their trumpets. In an instant there 
arose out of the water a huge mass of some- 
thing about the size of a barn. At this same 
moment a volley of shots were fired from the 
two boats, and it dawned on my mind that the 
monster was a whale and had been killed by 
the whalers. It was supposed that he had 
strayed away from his companions in the 
Arctic Ocean and passed through the Behring 
strait, and came down to *' The Peaceful " 
intending to raise a disturbance. 

When the boats arrived at Sitka, I examined 
some of their guns. Each charge consisted of 
one pound of powder, an instead of using a 
bullet they used a spear shaped bomb with a 
fuse which is lighted by the burning powder. 
Several of these bombs are shot into the whale, 
the bombs exploding and killing the creature. 
The skin and whale bone is nearly one foot in 
thickness. I was very anxious to examine his 
teeth and see what chances a person had to 
pass through a live whale's mouth, unharmed. 



THE NORTH-WEST. 45 

I noticed the wliale had fil'ty-two large ivory 
teeth, the hirgest teeth being six inches long 
and weighing three pounds each. While here 
I also examined a small can of ambergris from 
a sperm whale. The can would probably hold 
eight ounces and was valued at eighty dollars 
per ounce. The w^halers keep actual account 
of all whales killed, where, w^hen, the size, etc., 
the same as book keepers do in mercantile 
business. 

Sitka, the capital, has a population of 1,000. 
Outside of the tropics this is the rainiest place 
in the world. It has an annual precipitation 
reaching ninety inches, and rain three days out 
ot four. 

The Governor has his headquarters here and 
receives a salary of $3,000. The seat of the 
Bishop of the Greek Church is also here. The 
inhabitants are whites, Indians and Creoles. 
The principal occupation is fishing and hunt- 
ing, although farming is carried on in some 
localities, the principal cereals raised being 
barley and oats. 

The Indians of Alaska are divided into fami- 
lies, each family has a badge or totem pole of 
carved wood, some reaching the height of 60 
feet. These poles are ornamental. Some of 
the figures carved on them are the forms of 
eagles, wolves and bears. These are also used 
instead of monuments. 



46 OBSERVATIONS IN 

The next day I visited the Thousand Islands. 
This is a group of small islands resembling an 
archipelago. The sleds, I noticed, were not 
like onrs ; they had no iron runners but slats 
instead, which were tied on by means of raw- 
hide. The inhabitants principally live on seals 
and sea birds. The Esquimanx can eat ten 
pounds of whale or an equal amount of rein- 
deer at one meal. I was told that the children 
seldom have candy or sweet meats on Christ- 
mas but are presented with an extra pint of 
blubber on this occasion. Instead of gas and 
electric lights they place some moss in a basin 
of blubber which serves as a light. " They say 
there is a vast resource of timber in Alaska." 

Yes sir, that is true ; in places however 
there are timberless regious but around Sitka 
grows the spruce and yellow cedar in vast 
forests. Some of the spruce grows to the enor- 
mous height of 240 ieet. The yellow cedar is 
the most valuable on account of taking a ready 
polish and thus becoming valuable as a cabinet 
wood. The fir and hemlock is also found in 
large quantities. There is not much danger of 
the forests being destroyed by fire like in 
regions more southerly, as the air is moist and 
the ground is covered with moss. 

In the warmer season, in manj^ parts of 
Alaska, are seen large lakes filled with floating 
timber. Here, in Summer blooms the wild rose 



THE NORTH-WEST. 47 

and the robin sings to the natives while the 
mosquito sends in his bill. Squirrels are scarce 
but moose are plentiful. A story is afloat, told 
b}^ Lieutant Schwatka, that on his expeditions 
he saw natives shoot a squirrel with a 10-guage 
Winchester shot gvin, the cartridge weighing 
more than the carcass. 

''What about the Behring Sea question?" 
This is the most important question in the 
North-west at the present time. There are 
many views taken by the inhabitants, some 
belligerent while others of calmer minds desire 
arbitration and let the pen settle the difficulty, 
instead of the sword. It is a regretted fact by 
the better class of people, both Canadian and 
Americans, that many of the hundreds of seal- 
ing vessels attack seal herds in the Behring 
Sea each year, when the fur seal is migrating 
and frequently many of the females are des- 
troyed in mere sport while she is out hunting 
food for herself and young ones, thus injuring 
the fur seal industry. Just what will be the 
outcome of this difficulty is at present a matter 
of conjecture but nothing serious is likely to 
result. 

President Harrison and Lord Salisbury, the 
Prime Minister, although both great men and 
wise in many things, made mistakes which are 
not commendable to diplomats. President 
Harrison claimed the whole Northern Pacific 



48 OBSERVATIONS IN 

Ocean and tried to wall it in with a peculiar 
kind of a fence so as to let the seals from Asia 
and British Columbia come through and also 
keep those from Alaska's shores at home. It 
was on this line of thought that Mr. Blaine 
showed his superiority of statesmanship over 
the former. Because some of their domiciles 
were on our shores was not suiRcient proof to 
justify us to claim all the fur seals found in 
the Northern Pacific, nor to devolve us in a war 
with England. 

One mistake of Lord Salisbury was that the 
Canadians might continue killing the seals 
•while the United States and Canada or England 
were discussing propositions to save the seals 
from becoming exterminated. 

I noAV boarded a steamer and sailed to 
Astoria, Oregon. On my way back I noticed a 
few sea lions and the rest of the voyage was 
sky and water. Astoria has a population of 
2,800. In 1811 John Jacob Astor established a 
fur trading port here. I next visited Walla 
Walla, in the state of Washington, where I saw 
beautiful farms. Indeed it is an oasis between 
mountains; the land, however, is very high in 
price. 

Here I took the train to Salem, where I 
stopped a short time. The city has a popula- 
tion of 5,000. It became the seat of govern- 
ment in 1860. The flowers were in bloom and 



THE NORTH-WEST. 49 

the birds were singing to their mates. I next 
secured a ticket to Sacramento and paid dear 
for it, too, for there is only one road, and they 
liave a monopoly. The most interesting tilings 
I observed in California were the monarch 
trees, kno^^^n as sequoya gigantea. They are 
near the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I noticed 
one tree which was still standing and the lower 
pru't was being used for a house. A little 
farther on a road was made through a standing 
tree ; I judge the tree was 300 feet high. 

The train stopped a few minutes and the op- 
portunity was improved by examining a lately 
fallen tree from which a large log had been cut 
for some purpose. I counted the wood circles 
of the trunk and perceived the number to be 
1,896. It began its marvelous growth therefore 
the same year Christ was born. I stei)ped off 
the length of the tree and ascertained its 
length to be 400 feet — one foot of grow^th for 
each year since the discover}^ of America by 
Columbus. 

Sacramento was next visited. It has a pop- 
ulation of 26,000 and is situated on the Sacra- 
mento River, about 125 miles from the Pacitic 
Ocean. A little east of the capital are petrified 
f o re s t s . The re a re a 1 so fo ssil rem ai n s of m a ri n e 
animals in this vicinity. A number of Chinese 
are living here but the bulk of them are found 
in San Francisco. 



50 OBSERVATIONS IN 

From here I took the Central Pacific through 
Nevada, passing by Lake Tahoe, up to Salt Lake 
City. 

From this place a train was taken for Colo- 
rado. Creed, the great booming camp, was next 
visited. I did not remain long but saw Bob 
Ford, the murderer of Jesse James, who was 
here, it is claimed carrying on a profitable 
gambling business. The town has grown to 
6,000 inhabitants within three months. Malaria 
is raging caused by the dampness of the houses 
which were erected out of newly sawn logs. 
There are also many immoral women here ; in 
fact a virtuous woman would not enter such a 
hoodlum of a place for all the gold found. 
From here I went to the southwestern part of 
Minnesota and on my way to the Twin City. 

''That was quite a trip and very interesting." 

Yes, and I have omitted several things which 
I would have mentioned had I more time, but 
we must be almost to Madison ? 

" Yes sir, the next town is Black Earth, and 
in a few more minutes we will be at the 
Capital." 

Arriving at Madison I went directly to a 
hotel and retired for the night. The next 
morning, after breakfast, I started for the capi- 
tol. This is a fine, large building, with marble 
floor. After looking around on the first floor 
for a short time I went to the second where the 



THE NORTH-WEST. 51 

science and art gallery, senate and assembly 
halls are located. I first visited the Senate 
Chamber which faces towards the east. As I 
entered the door I beheld in front the motto, 
'' Forward, 1858." Around the wall was a row 
of writing desks and nice settees used by the 
33 members. There were also about 200 chairs 
in the Chamber. Two lar£;e artificial gas 
chandeliers were swinging from the center of 
the ceiling. When I was being ushered to the 
Assembly Hall I was informed that the present 
Governor, Geo. W. Peck, received a salary of 
$5,000 and his Lieutenant was Mr. Johnes. Ar- 
riving at the Assembly Hall I noticed the place 
was similar to the Senate Chamber only the 
things were not as tastefully arranged. One 
hundred members belong to this department. 

I next go down stairs and visit the library 
Avhich has a collection of 175.000 volumes of 
books and 25,000 volumes of periodicals bound 
in book form. 

Let us now take the elevator, which is run by 
water power, and go to the second floor once 
more to visit the science and art gallery, as the 
doors are now opened. Taking my position at 
the entrance I observed the gallery had three 
rooms. I took the center one first. On the 
left side, on the wall were two rows of por- 
traits of noted men, thirteen in each row. I 
did not have time to measure the proportions 



52 OBSERVATIONS IN 

of the paintings, (as did our distinguished in- 
ventor at the Paris Exposition, then decided 
many of the master pieces to be failures,) 
although many of them ^Yere undoubtedly 
unproportionate, they yet spoke volumes to me 
by their expressions. The first one was that of 
Mar. M. Jackson ; directly above him was 
Moses M. Strong. Continuing viewing the rest 
until I arrived at the rear Avhere the portraits 
of S. S. Merril and Alex Mitchell were viewed. 
On a roller was the picture of Thomas Hood. 
There were also a group of smaller pictures 
in one frame, one a Zoandvoost fish-woman 
with a basket on her back. Below were pic- 
tures of guards. Another i)icture of interest 
was that of Horatius Gates on his steed. Na- 
thaniel Green, Maj. Gen. U. S. Army, standing 
by the side of his horse Avith sword in his left 
hand and a three cornered hat in his right. 

There were some splendid pictures of Patrick 
Henry and Horace Greeley. The next was a 
relic of the Scotch Rebellion, a portion of an 
old red silk flag, date in gilt figures 1719, with 
Latin motto, ''^ Neum ; me impune lacessit.''^ 
Translated, no one provokes me with impunit}^ 
The order of the Thistle was instituted by 
Achaius, the King of Scots, in memory of the 
appearance of a bright crown in the heavens. 
Photographs irom the different Senators from 
1868 also of 1883 were shown. The south side 



THE NORTH-WEST. 53 

has now been viewed with the exception of one 
more roller. A piece of the first yard of cotton 
cloth woven in Wisconsin, l\lay 26th, 1S75, at 
Janesville. President Jefferson's inaugural 
speech on a piece of newspaper of two columns, 
each column about live inches wide and the 
names of the printers in the center of the 
column, they were, however, too dim to be 
read. Old Abe, is the title of a picture of an 
eagle, sitting on a cannon under the blue sky. 
This eagle was captured in the Spring of 1861, 
in Chippewa county, Wisconsin by an Indian 
named A-ge-mah-me-ge-zhig, (no Avonder he 
could catch the j^oung eagle.) The Indian sold 
it for a bushel of corn to Mr. McCann. It was 
concluded that the eagle should go to w'ar, so 
it was bought by Company C, 8th Wis. Reg. 
He was sworn in by putting around his neck 
red, white and blue ribbons. He went through 
the war and it was frequently the source of great 
jo}^ to the tired soldiers to have a living eagle 
to cheer them on. The compan}^ received an 
offer of $500. for him but would not part with 
him under any circumstances. It is said by 
one that his feathers are scattered all over the 
Union. A deed of land in Medford, Massachu- 
setts, dated in 1662, on unruled and uncalen- 
dered paper, and not a printed letter in the 
heading, body or seal. The letters v\^ere not 
strictly English nor German but more of a 



54 OBSERVATIONS IN 

mixture. The small " r " in Medford and other 
words, was the same as the present script r in 
the German. A photograph of the first settlers 
of Milwaukee. Photograph of the house in 
which the first Territorial Legislature was held 
at Belmont, Lafa^^ette Co., Wis., 1836, a two 
stor}^, rickety frame house. Portrait of Col. 
Tarleton also of Gov. Dewitt Clinton, ol the 
State of New York. Photograph of his ex- 
cellenc}^, John Adams, President of the U. S. 
An India ink panel portrait of Mrs. C. A. P. 
Chester, one-fifth life size, arra^^ed in the cos- 
tume she wore while engaged iu her mission of 
love in the army hospital. 

Let us now turn towards the front. On our 
left we see two more rows of portraits, fourteen 
in each row, making twenty-eight more oil 
paintings to be viewed, some of them being 
Mr. Spooner; Benj. Hopkins; Simeon Mills, a 
pioneer ot Madison in 1837. At the front are 
nearly a score of portraits promiscously ar- 
ranged, also a few costly busts. In the center 
of the room are relics. Fossils in blue shale 
from Kansas City, Mo. ; a ten armed creature 
imprinted on a flat stone; specimens of univalves, 
a piece of pottery from the ancient Roman 
city of Silchester, in Berkshire, England ; bricks 
and flints from the walls of the ancient city 
Verulamium, now St. Albans, in Hertford- 
shire, Eng. ; Ireland — a black thorn shillalah, 



THE NORTH-WEST. 55 

from the Killarney Fair, 1891; a figure of 
Christ carved in wood, from the sixteenth 
centur}^ crucifix. The nails were still in his 
hands and feet although one of the arms was 
broken off. The wood at this place was worm 



eaten. The features were strikingly expressive 
and must have been the master work of an 
Xylographer ; a piece of the Blarney stone, it 
is said that he who kisses it becomes eloquent. 



56 OBSERVATIONS IN 

Kentucky is represented by a lock of hair 
from Daniel Boone, (they were light colored) 
also pieces of the hearthstone from his cabin. 
A cast of his skull which shows the develop- 
ments of a hunter from a phrenological view ; a 
small, egg shaped stone supposed to be a "what- 
is-it." Petrified wood with two cuts made by a 
stone ax, from Yellowstone Park. The ques- 
tion arose in my mind who swung the ax, when 
and why ? A stone ax or Avedge, 3 inches by 
9^ inches long found on the surface of the 
ground in Barrow Co., Wis., a quarter of a 
century ago ; a large collection of coius, almost 
all nations and tribes being represented. A 
case of thirteen Pom.an coins, very ancient and 
corroded; tv/o coins from Liberia, dated 1862; 
several coins from France, Switzerland, the 
Island of Man, also some from St. Helena, 
where Napoleon and the Missionary, Mrs. Jud- 
son, are buried. One conquered with the sword 
the other with the spirit. A Roman coin of 
the Keign of Tragan, found near the great 
Pyramids; one quarter Anna, 1862; a Spanish 
crown piece dated, 1776 ; wampum, shells and 
beads; American coins before 1800; a Knrge 
collection of medals, badges; U. S. paper money 
from three cents, upwards ; pre -historic copper 
beads, worn by some beautiful female Mound 
Builder, while her fingers were weaving articles 
of apparel on the shuttles or grinding golden 



THE NORTH-WEvST. 



57 



maize witli a pestle while her husband was 
busy making axes and spades of stone or knives 
and spears of copper; a barbed spear, 10 inches 
long, found in Merton, Waukesha county in 
1877; a copper spear 12^ inches long; an adz- 
shaped relic made of copper, weighing 4f lbs., 
the blade at the edge 5 in., at the opposite end 
2 in., found south of Neileville, There was no 
place, however, for a handle, as we have in 
later days. It is supposed to have been used 
by a carpenter Mound Builder. 

The next are old newspapers and books. The 

first is the New 
England Cour- 
ant, 1722; the 
sermons of Al- 
bertus Magnus, 
published in 
Cologne, 1474; 
Pennsyl v a n i a 
Gazette, pub- 
lished by Benj, 
Franklin, 1739- 
40 ; I copied the 
following from 
one of the pages 
Saturday next will be published Poor 
Richard's Almanac^', for the year 1740. Printed 
and sold by the printer himself." The Book 
of Hours, on vellum or calf skin, written with 




"On 



58 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



a quill 1386, in Latin and French; a Dutch 
Bible, published in 1748, profusely illustrated 
with full copper-plate engravings ; the Nurem- 
burg Chronicle, in Latin, printed 1493 contain- 
ing 2,250 pictures, some of them painted by 
Wohlgemuth, the Master of Albert Durer. The 
picture I admired particularly was the Ultima 
Aetas Muncli^ translated, — The Last Age of the 
World. This book is a great rarity. Speci- 
mens of writings from noted men, the women, 
if you will excuse the expression, are not yet 
'' sui)posed to be in it :" Washington Irving, 
Geo. Bancroft, Oliver Holmes, John Q. Adams, 
Horace Greeley, U. S.Grant, a letter from Gen. 
Lafayette when in Paris, April 10th, 1832; a 
letter written by Jeff Davis in the decline of 
life. Also a letter from Abraham Lincoln, 
written in the Civil War; Alexander Hamilton, 
Oct. 7th, 1795; Aaron Burr. 
The last was from George 
Washington, which was ac- 
cording to the scripture, 
" The first shall be last and 
the last first." The phrase 
below is copied from his 
letter "this 16th of Decem- 
ber, 1764.'' His "f" in 
the word "of" resembled a distorted figure 
8 with a cipher before it. Mr. Greeley's writ- 
ings were certainly not written with the inten- 




THE NORTH-WEST. 59 

tion to be read by tliis generation, but to be 
laid away and in future years be brought forth 
and deciphered as hieroglyphics of the Dark 
Age of Penmanship. In another case are beads 
from Sandwich Ishmds, two kinds, one resem- 
bling small white shells, the others look like 
small red beans. Japanese cloth, made by 
natives ; the cloth was made from the bark of a 
tree and worn by both sexes, answering for 
apparel. Specimens of Maro, to cover the 
loins, used by natives of Tahiti, some of 
yellow and blue, others of red and white; a 
Turkey set of revenue stamps, different colored 
pieces of paper with certain black marks on 
each ; a war club used by the natives of South 
Pacific Islands, nicely carved and ornamented; 
Chinese shoes, one of which, formerly worn by 
a Chinese belle, was about 5 inches long and 
would be too small for an American girl nine 
years old. The body of the shoe was of rich 
blue cloth and nicely adorned with gold orna- 
ments. The more common shoes have wooden 
soles one-half inch thick; cuneiform inscrip- 
tions from the walls of the ancient city, 
Ninevah ; newspapers from iVIorocco, Africa 
and China, Asia. 

Let us now visit the room west of the center. 
Here is a large wooden anchor which looks as 
though it might have been used by Noah to 
anchor the Ark on Mt. Ararat. A little to the 



6o OBSERVATIONS IN 

right of this, near the corner, stands a red wheel 
barrow to remind the visitor of the Cleveland- 
Blaine campaign ; Mr. Roach bet on Blaine and 
had to wheel the barrow from a neio;hborino: 
town, to Madison, while his friend, Mr. Hutchi- 
son, accompanied him and kept the barrow 
oiled. This created quite a sensation w^hen 
they entered the city Dec. 6th, 1884. In the 
corner stood a Confederate torpedo constructed 
from a beer keg. ^ome of the oil paintings 
adorning this department are those of Keokuk, 
chief of the Sacs and Foxes ; Pocahontas, the 
daughter of Powhatan, who was an Algonquin 
chief, she who, when appearing in London in 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, was 
called "Lady Rebecca,'' takes her position near 
that of the famous leader. Black Hawk. The. 
next is a large painting of the Battle Ax battle 
ground. Near here were cases in which relics 
of wars are kept. A gun barrel used in Queen 
Anna's war, 1702-13. The gun had perhaps 
been used February, 170-4, by one of the 350 
French and Indians in the pine forests of Deer- 
field, Mass., and who killed 47 New Euglanders 
and captured 112. A long octagonal gun barrel 
used on the Battle Ax battle ground in which 
Black Hawk took a prominent part in 1832. A 
breast-plate from the body of Col. Rogers, of 
the Confederate army, killed at the second 
battle of Corinth, Oct. 4th, 1862; broken near 



THE NORTH-WEST. 



6i 



the center, near wliicli were also two other 
deep dints cansed by bullets. A military coat 
and chapeau of Gov. Henry Dodge, worn 
when lighting the wild tribes at the head 
waters ol" the Arkansas and Platte Rivers, in 
1834-35. Slave whips, some with platted 
lashes, others with a strap similar to a razor 
strop, fastened to a handle. One can hardly 
imagine the pain these poor negroes were in 
after receiving forty lashes from the hand of a 
task master which were found in the North as 
well as in the South. Sword of Capt. Thos. 
Harvey, used in the Revolutionary war. Sword 




used by Capt. John Brown, also in the Revolu- 
tionary war. These relics remind one of Paul 
Revere's ride, Washington and his soldiers at 
Valley Forge and the final separation of the 



62 OBSERVATIONS IN 

colonies from the mother country. A sword 
used in the war of Napoleon I. by Jacob 
Pistorius. Sections of saplings cut off by 
bullets, July 22d, 1884, near Atlanta. Near 
these saplings McPherson was killed. Bateau 
used by the French fur traders on the Wisconsin 
waters and the Great Lakes. It was 30 feet 
long and could convey 18 men, two in a seat, 
besides a stock of goods to carry on a barter 
with the Indians. Wisconsin under French 
dominion, as shown by a silver cross. Another 
cross made out of wood and used by J. Baptiste 
L'ecuyer, a French Creole, at Portage, Wis. A 




chip from the U. S. Frigate Constitution, better 
known as " Old Ironside." On August 19th, 
1812, Capt. Isaac Hull, nephew of the cow- 
ardly Gen. Hull, made himself renowned by 
the naval victory between his ship, the Ameri- 
can frigate Constitution, and the English ship 
Guerriere. A silver coat button worn by 
Daniel Boone with the monogram " D. B." Two 



THE NORTH-WEST. 



63 



sleigli bells presented by tlie wife of Alexander 
Hamilton, to her son, Milton S. Hamilton. Two 
powder liorns of Daniel Boone, nicely orna- 
mented with figures and buildings cut on the 
horns; they first belonged to his elder brother 
Is. Boone, and therefore bear the monogram 
" I. B." A piece of the famous charter oak. 
Here, Capt. Wadsworth's name became immor- 
tal by his seizing the document and carrying 
it away to the hollow oak, afterwards known as 
the Charter Oak. A piece of wood from Inde- 




pendence Hall, perhaps from the belfry where 
one hundred and sixteen years ago, the bell 
rang out her cheerful tidings of " Broclaim 
liberty throughout all the land unto all the in- 
habitants thereof." A piece of wood from the 
grave of Roger Williams, the eloquent minister 



64 OBSERVATIONS IN 

who advanced the theory that each person 
should think for himself on subjects regarding 
religious matters, and he alone be responsible 
to his conscience. He soon fled and found 
refuge with the Indians, Canonicus aiding hira 
in forming a settlement which was appropri- 
ately called Providence. 

A Confederate flag captured at Tulelo, Miss- 
issippi, July 14tli, 1864. Another one with the 
motto, " Give us a chance in the picture near 
the flashing of the guns." This was so riddled 
with bullets that it was almost impossible to 
read it. Confederate paper money from $1.00 
upwards. A large piece of Jeff. Davis^ mantle 
piece irom his residence, 30 miles below Vicks- 
burg, Mississippi. To represent the North a 
few shingles from the log hut of Abraham Lin- 
coln were exhibited. This reminds one of the 
beautiful play of the " Blue and the Gray." 

Let us now pass through the center room. 
Over to the east part of the gallery, on the east 
wall, hangs the life-sized portrait of John the 
Baptist, painted by Murillo, 1613. In my judg- 
ment this was the finest painting I observed in 
the gallery. The thought came to me what 
must have been the joy it produced to Murillo 
279 years ago. Fungi of all descrij)tions ; also 
large collections of petrified wood. An elk horn 
imbedded in wood, Crom Baraboa; another from 
Black Earth, Dane Co., Wis. One chip of oak 



THE NORTH-WEST. 65 

was at least two feet in diameter and the little 
oak very likely had grown in such a manner as 
to imbed the horns. A cut of a hickory tree 
six inches in diameter, with a board sticking in 
it caused by the great tornado in Wisconsin in 
1SG5. A conch shell found one mile east of 
Lake Winnebago, 150 feet above the level and 
10 feet below the surface. A small metal tripod 
from Italy; Venetian wine glasses ; from Ger- 
many, (Mettlach), a beer mug pattern; from 
Egypt the hands of a mummy from Thebes. 

I thought as I stood for a moment gazing at 
the withered hands of perhaps some queen, what 
jewels may have adorned thy fingers in thy 
youth, O queen ! What king ]3ressed thy hands 
and vowed to be true. But to-day thy earthly 
tabernacle is scattered to the four winds only to 
be gathered on that great day. My second 
thought was that it mattered very little what 
was done with the body after death, whether 
cremated, placed on exhibition or laid under 
the sod, so that our examples and influences 
were cast on the right side and for truth. In 
short, the immortality of the soul is more than 
all earthy gains and honors. The conquest of 
Mexico, 1519-21 was made impressive by a 
cannon Avhich Iiad been used as a hitching post 
for centuries in Tepie, having been carried 
there from, Spain by the conqueror, Cortez. A 
Mexican's hat, weighing 1 lb., 10 ozs. It was a 



66 OBSERVATIONS IN 

large, broad brimmed and high crowned hat, 
richly ornamented with a gold band. It was 
worth about $75. in our money. A small Aztec 
idol, very likely once worshiped in their tem- 
ples or teocalli. The history of this tribe is 
very interesting to the student. A Tortilla 
stone, on which Indian corn is ground for pan- 
cakes. A large cutlass which had been worn 
in a belt by some Mexican. A relic from 
Andersonville Prison. It was a piece of look- 
ing glass placed in a small board frame, which 
had been cut out with a knife, and the piece of 
glass puttied in. 

After dinner I started to visit the State 
University. The buildings are beautifully 
located on a cliff near a body of water. One 
large building is used exclusively for a chemical 
laboratory. A large number of students were 
constantly entering and leaving the main 
entrance. I did not remain here long but 
started towards the depot. On my way to the 
station a happy incident occurred which I shall 
never forget. Three little ill clad urchins were 
playing in front of a rickety dwelling. As I 
was j)assing by a little boy stopped me by 
asking, " Where is your home?" 

My little boy, I live far from here. 

" Well, I live there,'- pointing to the house. 

I was about to pass on when he said " Give 
me a penny." I have only one and that has a 



THE NORTH-WEST. 67 

hole ill it, said I. " Well, give me that." I did 
so and they ran to the house filled with joy, 
where their mother met them and shared in 
their happiness. Verily, there was more joy 
in that family over the one cent, than ninety 
and nine dollars produced in my pocket. 

Before arriving at the depot I passed by an 
old house which resembled a barn, and asked 
a gentleman what it was used for. 

" There are a score of young ladies working 
there stripping tobacco.'* 

I thought that was another way to elevate 
down trodden women, the future mothers of 
" Our grand and glorious Republic," to be shut 
up all day in a tobacco shop among green 
worms and tobacco smell, eking out their lives 
for a few cents, and under the very shadows of 
the capitol and universities. 

The train has arrived and I am off for Mil- 
waukee. On the right are people cutting ice 
with ice plows. There are also many sail sleds, 
which are used by some to take pleasure trips 
and others to convey the ice to the packing 
houses. The ground is becoming hilly and 
nice forests appear. Several inches of snow is 
still to be seen in the woods but the sun has 
thawn the greater portion of it to-day. The 
next is Sun Prairie which is a nice country 
town. The main part of the town is to the 
left. For many miles the pike and track run 



68 OBSERVATIONS IN 

side by side. Many teams x)ass, barely noticing 
the trains as they pass them. There is some 
nice scenery along here. At Waterloo a large 
crowd of "drummers" got on. A white church 
edifice, to the right, is called St. Joseph. We 
move on to Waterloo Junction, a city of 10,000 
inhabitants. They are commemorating St. 
Patrick's Day by wearing green ribbons. The 
college of the Sacret Heart and Catholic 
churches are here. A middle aged, jovial man 
and his wife got on and I asked him some 
questions regarding the city. " Yes ;" says he, 
"I had almost forgotten, there are some 
breweries doing a big business, but please ex- 
cuse me for giving any more information 
regarding breweries for my wife at my side 
might suspicion something." The sun is be- 
ginning to set and the heavens are putting on a 
strange appearance. In the distance the sun 
seems to be battling with a fog, but no : the 
moisture has turned into snow. I now begin 
to recognize the place and remember that last 
year 1 i)assed through here from Milwaukee to 
La Crosse, passing along the Wisconsin River, 
and noticed the Dalles, or canon, a deep cut 
some 8 miles long and 100 feet high. Some 
people were in boats on the river while many 
ladies and gentlemen were climbing the cliffs. 
Farther on, I remember, was a tunnel which 
made a very indelible impression on my mind. 



THE NORTH-WEST. 69 

We entered La Crosse as the evening sliades 
were falling. The train is moving on towards 
Oconomowoc, a noted summer resort for the 
elite of Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, New 
Orleans and San Francisco. To-day it had a 
different appearance from what it had last 
Summer Avlien I visited it. Then the waters 
were covered with boats containing merry fish- 
ing parties, now only a lovely winter scene is 
presented by the newly fallen snow. I also 
recognized the Armour Packing Co.'s ice 
houses, a long row of them containing millions 
of tons of ice. We now enter the metropolis 
of Wisconsin in the dusk of the evening. At 
the depot everything is hustling and every one 
is a hustler. It is a beautiful sight to behold 
the many head lights, and notice the escaping 
steam mingling with the frosty air. The switch 
lights are being carried to their places by men 
and women. The thought comes to me that in 
this age of invention this drudgery could be 
lessened by electricity, and the desired colors 
or signals produced by the operator simply 
turning a key located in the office. 

After supper I started out for a stroll. The 
first attraction was a Salvation Army, singing 
as they were marching to their place of wor- 
ship. After walking around a short time, I 
noticed a large crowd of people going to David- 
son's theater and a larger crowd filing towards 



70 OBSERVATIONS IN 

the Bijou. I was told that the play at the 
latter was the " Police Patrol,'' so I procured a 
ticket and entered. The architecture ot the 
hall is beautiful and the place was well lighted 
by electricity. The principal feature of 
the play, which created a loud applause, was 
when the patrol alarm was sounded two white 
horses dashed out on the stage where they were 
harnessed in about eight seconds and in a few 
more seconds the driver and several policemen 
were on the wagon starting off on a gallop but 
stopped at the foot lights on a sudden, as the 
curtain fell. 

In the morning I visited the docks. Here 
are scores of ships to be seen ; many of them 
are being loaded with grain. A large City Hall 
is in progress in which all city offices will be 
located. The Schlitz Hotel is a large one and 
they are making preparations to increase its 
dimensions. As I had visited the main factories 
and beautiful parks last Summer, I concluded 
to spend the rest of my time at the Y. M. C. A. 
Hall, before leaving for Chicago. Before enter- 
ing the main building I ate a very nice lunch, 
more to see what they had, and learned that 
their prices were very low. 

I now enter the door to the main building. 
To the left is a reading room, in which is a w^ell 
selected library. Here were many young men 
reading. To the right is an office where all the 



THE NORTH-WEST. 71 

business is transacted. Nearing the center of 
the building we see stands on which may be 
pUiyed checkers, dominoes and all sorts of in- 
nocent games. In the room opposite the 
library is a piano which may be played by the 
visitors. In the rear is a gymnasium where all 
gymnastic sports are conducted under the 
critical eye of an instructor. There are bath 
rooms in connection with the building, and a 
large pool where the 3'oung men enjoy them- 
selves by swimming. On the second floor is a 
lecture room. Before leaving I noticed an 
oflering box in which I dropped a few cents 
to assist the carrying on of the good work. 

The train having arrived, I was soon bound- 
ing along at a swift speed towards the Windy 
City. The sun is becoming w^arm and the 
latel}^ fallen snow is fast disappearing. We 
are now at Two Mills, a small village, and I 
began to wonder why the place was called Two 
Mills. In the distance I beheld an English 
mill, sending up her curling smoke and steam, 
while farther on was a German mill, the wind 
turning the long, broad sails and these turning 
the mill stones. This is the same style mill 
used by the Dutch to-day iarther up in the 
North-west, and as were also used by them in 
New York nearly three hundred years ago. I 
did not feel like a certain Knight, who, when 
he saw similar mills, drew his sword and began 



72 OBSERVATIONS IN 

to fence with the revolving sails, but I con- 
cluded to let them stand as landmarks, to show 
the progress of American intellect. I next 
notice an owl sitting on a tree. 

A hre has burned tlie grass along the track 
and done some injury to the fence. The train is 
passing several small stations without stopping. 
The fruit vender is calling out "apples, oranges." 
Three squirrels are playing near a hickory tree. 
I was just in the act of calculating how many 
squirrels it would take to make a heap as large 
as an ordinary whale, when I beheld a good hay 
rake in a field which held been left out there by 
^ ^orae careless farmer. A nicely 
kept cemetery lies to the right. 
is# There are many log houses in this 
^&-A i"^pon, and before one of them is a 
a large apple orchard. A gentle- 
^ man who Avas sitting near me no- 
^^I^P ticed that I had made a memoran- 
-ti4ip| (la of the cemetery, squirrels aTid 
apple trees. 
" AVhere are you from ? " he asked. 
I said to him I am not an inhabitant of some 
distant planet, but have spent a part of my 
days in south-western Minnesota and her neigh- 
boring states. It is a rare thing to see a ceme- 
tery oiit there. 

"Why, how is that?" 

One reason is that tombstones are seldom 




THE NORTH-WEST. 73 

used and therefore, the cemeteries are not as 
visible as ours are in the East, where we have 
liigli monuments. Another reason is the people 
seldom die out here. Cor the air is very pure and 
healthy so that people wdio die in other regions, 
when brought here for interment, come to life; 
or, frequently when the proper authorities 
begin a search for the bodies, the tombs are 
empty. 

" Do the authorities ever catch the body 
snatchers ? " 

Well, once they traced it to a medical college, 
but the students declared that as the winds 
were of sufficient force to move hay stacks from 
various parts of the meadows to the barns, it 
must be that the wind took a peculiar turn and 
scooped up the bodies and they were carried 

home on the wind. 

" How do the live people 
manage from being blown 
away ? " 

Oh, that is explained 
easily : We do everything in 
companies. You remember 
the old maxim, "In union 
there is strength." Besides 
some of those people are larger and stronger 
than in the East. In fact, I have a man in my 
mind now, who was a butcher. When he had 
selected a nice, three-year-old heifer or steer, 




74 OBSERVATIONS IN 

he would walk up to it, take the animal by the 
horns and throw it on the ground and hold it un- 
til the animal was strangled. 

"How about the squirrels?'' 

There are none to be seen ; formerly, a few 
flying squirrels were in this region but they 
improved the opportunity by taking advantage 
of the swift winds and flying ofl". As regards 
the apple trees, they do not grow there, for the 
winds in the Summer and the cold blizzards in 
Winter do not let them get a start, and it is a 
beautiful sight to see an orchard again. 

The next I observe a small stump in the 
forks of a tree. The stump, I judge, being 15 
feet from the ground. How it got there you 
may philosophize for yourselves. Three doves 
are venturing out from a barn yard to hail the 
oncoming ?prini>;. A large pickle factory is 
passed by close to Forest Glenn. We are now 
nearing the Cit}^ of Chicago. The blue smoke 
from the factories is seen in the distance. 
More sights are presenting themselves than can 
be observed creditably. Long rows of houses 
of the same style. Many factories are passed. 
The Pan Handle depot No. 1, follows in order. 

We have now arrived at the grandest depot 
in the world. This is the second city in size in 
the United States and has a population of 
1,100,000. Three hundred and seventy-five 
trains leave daily for various parts of the U.S., 



THE NORTH-WEST. 75 

and passengers are constantly coming and 
going. 

After dinner I called on the Commissioners 
of the Columbian Exposition and was kindly 
received by the gentlemen although they were 
vpry bus}^, at their main office near the center 
of the city. I asked them regarding keeping 
the grounds open on the Lord's day. Some 
thought it wise, others unwise. I remarked 
that if only those were allowed to enter on 
Sunday who were sober and could come out 
sober it might be all right, but the better way 
would be to close up every seventh day and 
attend services, if they had to erect a taber- 
nacle where foreign talent might talk to their 
people, as well as home talent. Each factory, 
mill and shop employing help should give one 
holiday each month, so as to allow their em- 
plo3'ees to gather information without losing 
their positions. There is no need of walking 
to the World's Fair ground, unless one desires 
to do so, for street cars and conveyances are 
always in readiness. The location is on the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, near Lake Mich- 
igan. Every eifort is being put forth to make 
this the world's crowning feature. The grounds 
have a very large area and many of the beauti- 
ful buildings are nearing completion by the 
constant toil of thousands of employees. 

One of the noted curiosities on the ground at 



76 OBSERVATIONS IN 

present is Lincoln's log cabin, which has been 
purchased b}^ a number of gentlemen, Avho will 
place it under a tent, as a great many other 
things will be. A gentleman told me that his 
employer had $5,000 invested in the cabin, and 
thought the admittance fee would be $3. I said 
this looked like a money making scheme. 
" Well, we must all cut a sheaf while the 
harvest is on.'* 

Amongst the noted features Austria will ex- 
hibit glass, porcelain, artistic iron and bronze. 
In the Woman's Building there will be a 
model hospital conducted entirely by Illinois 
women. In another part of the building will 
be found a historical collection of laces from 
Queen Marguerite, of Italy. 

Denmark will exhibit a Danish dairy and 
show the most approved methods. A Pennsyl- 
vania iron company will exhibit a battle- ship 
shafting 125 feet long, also a full sized model 
125-ton steam hammer, the largest in the world. 

Each state in the Union will have a small lot 
with a building in which to exhibit that in 
which she excels : California may bring her 
gold and fruits ; North Dakota, her wheat ; 
Nebraska, her corn ; Pennsylvania, her coal and 
iron; Michigan, her lumber; Maine, her lob- 
sters; Louisiana, her cotton; but Ohio will 
bring a monument 30 feet high ; standing at its 
base will be such figures as Thurman, Garfield 



THE NORTH-WEST. 



77 




and Slierman, while on tlie apex stands the 
Roman matron, pointing down and seeming to 
say, I, Ohio, bring my men; these are my 
jewels. 

I now passed back to the Board of Trade. I 
remember of visiting the 
place last Summer when 
the wheat rose nearly 2 
cents in a few hours. This 
was an exciting time. " Old 
Hutch " was out instructing 
his agents Avhat to do. 
Many young striplings were 
gambling as heavily as the older ones. 

To-day I visited the Rialto which also be- 
longs to the Board of Trade. I had read a 
few days prior of Peter Maher, the pugilist, as- 
cending and descending the stairs of \Yashing- 
ton Monument, a height of 5.55 feet, on his 
way to the South to be whipped by Fitzsim- 
mons, so I thought I would try and limber up 
by ascending the innumerable flights of the 
Rialto and descend them again in one heat. In- 
stead of going South, however, I came very 
near going up to Minneapolis and have a round 
with Sullivan, for challenging me personally 
onl}' a few days previous as he w^as passing 
through a town on the train, in southern Minne- 
sota. The stakes were low and my trainers 
could not agree on the referee so w^e postponed 



78 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



it until he had taken a complete medical treat- 
ment at the KeeJey Institute, after which he 
wonld undoubtedl}^ kill himself like many 
other humbugged patients. Allow me to remark 
in this connection that the doctor, who has 
made such a great discovery, as he claims, and 
will not permit eminent physicians to examine 
it, but uses it lor personal gains and aggrandize- 
ment, while his bretliren are falling by the 
thousands every day, is a quack and a humbug 
in this dawning of the twentieth century. 

Leaving the Kialto I visited the California 
Exposition of fruits and vegetables. After 




asking permission of the manager to take a 



THE NORTH-WEST. 79 

few notes, which was gladly granted, and 
registering, I noticed, first , an enormous pump- 
kin, weighing 300 lbs.; the next article was a 
mangel wurtzel beet, weighing 70 lbs. and 
about 3 feet long; large ears of yellow and 
white corn; beautiful Burbank potatoes ; a hill 
of ^ sweet potatoes weighing 43 lbs ; seedless 
lemons which grow by budding ; specimens of 
olive wood ; a eucalyptus tree, 4 years old and 
with a diameter of 6 in., raised at San Do- 
mingo, Cal.; yellow pine raised at Julian ; an 
elderberry branch 1^ ft. in thickness ; red cedar 
bark nearly 1 ft. thick ; a second growth of 
barley since September, 1891; shaddocks 5 in. 
in diameter; beautiful slabs of marble; shells, 
nautilus, corals, etc ; a collection exliibiting the 
different processes through which the silk 
passes — the worm, cocoon, moth and various 
manufactured fabrics, thus gaining an idea of 
the silk industry carried on in the Golden State; 
many cases of hard and soft shelled English 
walnuts; luscious peaches and pears; a speci- 
men of Australian wheat, 6 ft. high ; corn 
stalks 15 ft. high, so that a person would re- 
quire a step ladder to husk it on the stalk; fine 
specimens of gold ore, which assayed a value 
of $708.92 per ton, which is exceptionally good 
as some in the Creed mines will not assay more 
than $20. per ton. By this we see that not 
everything that glitters is gold, also that the 



8o OBSERVATIONS IN 

dross and gold are side by side and can onl}^ be 
separated by fire which is uncommonly hot. 
Next was a large piece of asphaltnm, as black 
as jet ; specimens of buckwiieat, barley, wheat, 
hops, and beans in glass jars; ostrich plumes 
from Norwalk ostrich farm. Some of the 
feathers were black, others white. Do not look 
for more than one ostrich plume on your lady's 
Easter hat, unless she is a millionaire's daugh- 
ter; licorice root, bent into the shape of a 
hoop; cotton — the plant, bloom, boll, photo- 
graphs of picking, ginning and pressing; collec- 
tions of choice figs, dates and peanuts ; a nice 
collection of palm leaves and cat tail — reed 
mace, or typha ; green olives and limes in glass 
cans. 

I now leave the building and study the peo- 
ple for a time, principally to get some of their 
business ideas. I next visited an 18-story 
building after which many interesting places 
were more or less observed, principally the 
stock yards, Lincoln Park, boulevards. Palmer 
House, court house, custom house and post 
office, also several churches and school build- 
ings. After supper I went to the depot and 
purchased a ticket for home and had my bag- 
gage checked. As the train did not leave 
until late in the evening I concluded to take 
another view of La Salle street, to study 
human nature under the electric lights, for one 



THE NORTH-WEST. 8i 

rail find out more in an hour at night than in 
ten hours in the daytime. This statement will 
hold good not only with the aristocratic La 
Sailers but the world over. I passed mansion 
after mansion for miles. On returning I took 
the sidewalk instead of the car so that I could 
notice things more to my satisfaction. On ar- 
riving at Adams street, I started towards the 
depot. I had not quite gone a block when I 
I was politely asked by a powdered female to be 
her chaperon. This did not unnerve me for such 
occurrences are common not only in Chicago 
but in many wicked smaller cities and espe- 
cially school towns. Instead of complying 
with her request I got on my dignity and 
offered to pay her hotel bill for a week if she 
would go to her room and not disgrace herself 
and her sex, and insult decent men who were 
attending to their business. She did not seem 
to be pleased with the proposition so we parted. 

Just before I entered the train, I noticed about 
75 foreigners with lunches, packs and valuables 
tied up in handkerchiefs enter a train for Cal- 
ifornia. I approaclied one of the crowd and 
was told that tliey had come from all parts of 
Europe. 

Our train whistles and we are traveling east- 
w^ards. Not much is seen until in the morning, 
when we were nearing Fort Wayne, Indiana. 
In the meantime, between a nap and a doze. 



82 OBSERVATIONS IN 

I was recalling first my experience as President 
of a Business College in the central part of the 
Hoosier state. How, Franklin like, I disposed 
of my valuable library by piece menl, so as to 
be able to obtain a loaf of bread or a lunch 
once a day and instead of sleeping in some un- 
occupied stair way, the floor of the college 
rooms served as a bed. I tried for a year to 
make an honest living in t-liat vicinity by teach- 
ing day and evenings, without scarcely receiv- 
ing any tuition which was due me for services. 
So finally concluded to join the staff* of report- 
ers and work on a daily paper but the preacher, 
with whom I had contracted, refused to pay 
the whole amount due me, ''for" says he "we 
are at a great expense this year in building a 
church and I guess we must save up the 
money." I then followed stenography and 
type writing, but the law^^ers were so dishonest 
that two were tried for forgery within a month. 
Another old gentleman, almost a septuagena- 
rian, who had employed me to take a deposi- 
tion, cheated me out of five dollars; but be 
ran to the end of the catalogue of sins in t])e 
decline of life by also committing forgery and 
was found guilty and sentenced to the peni- 
tentiary in the northern part of the state. 

I finally worked my way in, as a book keeper 
and weigh master, in a canning factory and 
managed to eat two meals per day, and save a 



THE NORTH-WEST. 83 

little money so tliat witli it I might get out at 
least as respectable as I entered. But just as I 
thought I was getting along rather nicely the 
factory shut down for lack of fruits and vege- 
tables to can. I now concluded to fall back to 
the humble but most honorable of all posi- 
tions, that of laboring on the farm for a man, 
I will call him a man, although he had no more 
respect for God or man than one of those 
grunting porkers with bristles all over them ; in 
fact if he had wallowed in the mud with the 
porker, and had the pig arisen on his hind legs 
and taken his stand aside of the human beast, 
I would have pronounced the pig, the man. I 
used to could stand to work 14 hours a day for 
six days out of the w^eek, but to work 18 hours 
out of 24, (and the remaining six hours light- 
ing lieas and bed-bugs) and seven days out of 
a week, harvesting on Sunday like on week 
daj^s, w^as too much for my youthful training. 
So after jjounding a few brains into the farmer's 
pate I started to visit a friend near Lake Mich- 
igan where I was treated like a King's son. 
This friend had also made a great discovery in 
the vicinity which I had just left. He found 
that he had lost several hundred dollars in the 
book business, so we could talk over our ex- 
periences. We struck uj) an acquaintance 
while in business and I consi4ered that he was 
a faithful friend, at least according to immor- 



84 OBSERVATIONS IN 

tal Shakespeare's views, which are regarded by 
me as being next to the Bible. 




THE ORIGINAL PORTRAIT OP SHAKESPEARE. 

He that is thy friend indeed, 
He will help thee in thy need : 
If thou sorrow, he Avill weep ; 
If thou wake, he can not sleep ; 
Thus, of every grief in heart, 
He with thee doth bear a part. 

While up here I visited the Hoosier slide, a 
rid2;e of sand on the lake shore as white as 
snow. The ridge is nearly 100 feet high and if 
a person has the " sand " to climb to the top, it 
will be an easy matter to descend. I ascended 



THE NORTH-WEST. 85 

and descended without any difficulty, but a 
young couple met with quite a misfortune as 
they concluded to descend arm in arm; the 
lady lost her foothold, which caused the gentle- 
man to lose confidence in himself, so for the 
next few moments, both were trying to gain 
their equilibrium but to no avail. Now they are 
filling; look out, they are coming faster and 
faster ; every eye is turned upward ; some are 
calling out to them to " hold on to the sand." 
This they strive to do. The danger is now 
past and some are laughing as the young 
couple reach the base all covered Avith sand, 
luckily not hurt, but wiser for the venture. 
This reminded me of woman's rights and suff- 
rage. Some w^ere laughing at the lady and said 
she had no business to go up there in the first 
place. But I thought she had an equal right to 
climb the ridge and get a view of the beautiful 
lake and scener}^ as any man or boy. A 
modest lady remarked : " If 1 was that lady I 
would not disgrace myself like that." That is 
very true, but by this bold lady's falls our 
modest sister may ascend and descend more 
easily. So with woman suHrage or female 
slavery. 

It is an undisputed fact that God created all, 
male and female, equal — morall}^ mentally, 
and without any doubt physically, only in some 
things the females are more awkw^ard than the 



86 OBSERVATIONS IN 

males, for lack of practice. The same may be 
said of the males. It is also a known fact that 
all males unless insane, idiots, bribers, convicts, 
etc, after they have arrived at the legal age, 
are entitled to a vote. The females, therefore, 
being created the male's equal have also an 
equal right to vote. There are women who 
say, " Well I would not vote if I could." Of 
course we men admire their modesty and self- 
respect. But the simple fact that they have 
an opinion and express it as they do, would be 
expressed in the form of a ballot if the oppor- 
tunity was presented them. Taking it for. 
granted that these ladies would not vote, but 
only one out of a thousand, the way should be 
opened. Unless we men prove ourselves to be 
more than what our Creator declares us, we 
lower ourselves to the equal of slave holders, 
and should be dealt with accordingly. 

I also visited the State Penitentiary Avhere 
hundreds of criminals were at w^ork, making 
barrels, boots and shoes, and knitting woolen 
goods. There were many undoubtedly in the 
prison who were innocent or had committed 
some deed while under the influence of liquor, 
but there were many others in whose faces 
were depicted the devil himself. 

I then took a boat to Chicago and resolved to 

take Horace Greeley's advice and " Go West." 

The train is now at Fort Wayne, the morning 



THE NORTH-WEST. 



87 



is dawning and I see quite a city. It has a 
population of 35,000. The place was formerly 
a French trading post. The city has electric 
lights, street cars and many factories. 

A wreck has just occurred near here, so our 
train will be delayed for a short time, until the 
track is cleared of the debris. The passengers 
on our train became frightened and excited, as 
the news of the wreck reached them. Fortu- 
nately no lives were lost. In life we know not 
when the Son of Man cometh, whether at mid- 
night or at morn; it therefore, behooves us to be 
up and doing and be ready at all times. 

We are now nearing the gas belt and a large 
derrick is seen in the distance. Passing through 
Van Wert, we see that she is a business city. 
The wheat in this region 
looks splendid. The next 
stoi) is at Delphos. Here is 
a fine Catholic church costing 
$60,000, and. several high 
school buildings. I recall to 
mind that years ago, in this 
city, in ni}^ boyhood days, I 
wooed a school ma'am, and 
— did not lose, because I had 
never claimed her. 

Innumerable derricks are appearing. We 
are nearing Lima and the place smells very 
strong of oil. Near the center of the town is a 




88 OBSERVATIONS IN 

beautiful court house. There are many good 
hotels near the depot. At the depot I dropped 
a penny in the slot and discovered that I had 
gained 20 lbs. while in the West. Here also 
was a beautitul picture of Otter Tail range of 
the Rocky Mountains on the Canadian Pacific. 
I next take the train south, for Sidney. On the 
way I noticed large car shops and 333 oil tanks, 
each of which contains thousands of barrels of 
crude oil. 

At Wapakoneta many passengers alight. 
Many nice churches and school buildings are 
seen but the saloons outnumber both. The 
wheat in this region is injured some by the 
March weather. We are now at Sidney. This 
place is having a slight boom. The castle on 
the cliff, near the depot, is a fine structure. 
The Sidney School Furniture Co. is located 
here. I noticed some of their seats in the 
'' woolly West." 

I now take a train east, for a short distance, 
and pass several small towns wdiich are noted 
for nothing particularly, only as old land 
marks. The surface is now becoming rugged 
and the scenery beautiful. Some cliffs 150 
feet high to the right while on the left tlows a 
peaceful river. In this region are groves of 
sugar trees, with buckets hanging to them to 
catch the flowing sap. As we go on, the track 
makes a bend with the river, in the shape of a 



THE NORTH-WEvST. 89 

liorse shoe, so that a person in the last coach 
can see the engine by looking out of the 
Avindow. The surveyor must have had an eye 
to business, for this curve gives the engineer 
and ladies at least one chance to flirt with each 
other. I am next reminded by certain ancient 
land marks that the author has arrived 




I had not been away quite as long as Rix) 
Van Winkle, but many changes were notice- 
able. The thought that change is a natural 
law in the physical, moral and intellectual 
world made itself very impressive. Some of 
these which were observed by me will be por- 
trayed from time to time. It was finally an- 
nounced by the good people w^hose duty it is — or 
at least they make it their business — that the 
prodigal had returned. Then came a season of 
hand shaking which convinced me at least that 
I was welcome, pioviding I did not remain too 
long. 

A change was observed in the social circle. 
I judge if there had been a Four Hundred Club 
in the village 1 would have been chosen in 
unanimously. A very striking difference w^as 
observed with the females. Perhaps because 
this is leap year. Some years ago, when I had 



90 OBSERVATIONS IN 

less experience in the world and less renown, 
I admired a certain intelligent and refined lady 
in the village, but all efforts failed. What do 
I see to-da}^, since my Rip Van Winkle period 
or Robinson Crusoic adventure, but this very 
lady coming out, and also welcoming me home. 
Some boys who, when I left, were on the streets 
with torn knee breeches and mother earth on 
their bare feet, to-day are promenading the 
streets with the gentler sex, both having weak 
eyes, (at least wearing golden spectacles) and 
a "pug" led by the lady, while the gentleman 
sports a cane. Many of our most promising 
j^oung men had chosen partners for life, while 
a number of good natured bachelors and maids 
were still in hope. I visited the cemeteries 
and observed that many of the young and aged 
had been lain in the silent tomb. 

In a few days I visited a city farther east. 
On my way I passed by the log cabin in which 
I was born. I recalled my childhood days and 
one striking event which transpired. As w^e 
lived near the railroad I managed to crawl or 
walk close to the track and view the soldiers as 
they came home on flat cars. Of course I did 
not understand it then, but my perceptive 
faculties were aroused as they have been ever 
since. All that grieves me to-day is that this 
log hut has not gained sufficient renown to 
entitle it to a place in the World's Fair ground. 



THE NORTH-WEST. 91 

Farther on lies a beautiful lake, the waters of 
which. resem])le silver, and wlien the golden sun 
bathes herself in the water, as we boys used to 
do, it almost makes me wish I v/as a boy again. 
Arriving at the city I find that she is also on a 
boom. Many railroad shops are being built. 
Here I observed many financial changes : some 
have grown wealthy, others become poor. 

A miserly old farmer for whom I worked 
through harvest, when a young man, at 20 cents 
a day, has failed and is now trying to make a 
living by day labor himself. 

In the matrimonial line many changes were 
observed. In fact in our own family changes 
for the better, had occurred, which was almost 
considered an impossibility by me. 

I next visited the poor house in the country 
and on my way passed the location where I 
had taught my first school. The house had 
been torn down and where the scholars used to 
sport was a flock of sheep lazily nipping the 
green grass. As I stood meditating over the 
past a neighbor came up to me and, after the 
ordinary greeting, remarked, '' Well you are 
looking at your old school grounds, are you ? " 

Yes sir, and things have changed consider- 
ably around here. 

'' Yes, and there has been a great change 
with the scholars. Two brothers of one family 
are dead ; one was . drowned in the reservoir 



92 OBSERVATIONS IN 

while on a fishing excursion, and he was to be 
nictrried the next week. His brother, that 
stoat, fleshy young man, you remember, died 
of consumption. Your largest scholar, who 
weighed almost again as much as you, has been 
married twice, his first wife not living long 
after their honey moon. Many of the girls are 
married also." 

I now start on my way towards the Infirmary 
but really dreaded to go near, as I had almost 
become an inmate against my will, for some of 
the people thought I would never be able to 
make a living for myself. So to-day, I ventured 
in for the first time although having lived within 
three miles of the place for a score of years. 
The first inmate I met was an old acquaintance 
of mine who had become poor and sickly, so 
his well-to-do, haughty relations sent him here 
on the expense of the county, while his kind 
old wife had been sent out West to some of his 
friends to pine away the rest of her days. It al- 
most caused mj^ heart to cease beating to learn of 
his fate and remembering that he formerly liked 
sweets, I asked him if he would like a few pieces 
of candy. " Yes, give me a few pieces." I did 
so. Although I had faced many revolvers and 
death in more than one instance while in the 
West, I almost lost my nerve and turned away 
sick at heart, thinking how unreliable are even 
our nearest friends in time of need. The next 



THE NORTH-WEST. 93 

gentleman was one with whom I used to hibor 
on a farm. AVell, my friend, said I, how are 
you? You remember we used to work together. 
'' Yes, and I hope you will soon be with me 
here again." 

This remark was rather shocking to me but I 
took it the way he intended it. The usher then 
took me to see the idiots, decrepit, maimed, 
palsied and blind, all of which were j)itiful 
specimens of humanity. 

After staying all night at a friend's house in 
the neighborhood, I started in the morning to 
visit the Orphans' Home, not a great distance 
from the Infirmary. It was quite a treat to me 
to study the young child life and be permitted 
to visit their schools. Passing on westward, a 
short distance, I came to the place where my 
old school house used to stand, in which 1 first 
learned to read and spell (but not write). Noth- 
ing v.as left to mark the place only a few stones 
heaped up in a conical pile. The play ground 
was also altered ; some of the trees back of 
which we children used to hide were chopped 
down. I remember my first day's experience 
at school; how I, a Saxon youth, pronounced the 
Pictorial Alphabet in my natural tongue al- 
though the lady teacher would have me to 
repeat the letters of the word after her, like a 
l^arrot, and then tell me to pronounce it, as she, 
but the Saxon word was uppermost and it 



94 OBSERVATIONS IN 

would come first for 1 knew it was right accord- 
ing to the picture. Another mean trick I 
remember 1 was guilty of, was, that when the 
big girls would go to and from their recitations, 
I would try and embrace them, — a habit of 
which I have not yet entirely reformed. A few 
years later, when I was just learning to write 
and make figures, I had no slate, so con- 
cluded to write them on the wall, for I thought 
it was almost as black as the black board; but 
my gentleman teacher did not think so, and 
when I had done the deed he came up to me 
and took me by my waist collar, jerked me out 
of my seat and told me to sit under his high 
desk. Of course I did as he had commanded 
me, for fear of being killed. But I did not seem 
to mind it very long, at the time at least, for I 
kept on counting by touching my thumb, index, 
middle, ring and little fingers in their order on 
my forehead. Every time one of my fingers 
touched my forehead I would add one more to 
the sum. I can still see some of the larger 
scholars laughing at the teacher for his York- 
shire methods, and at himself, who was only a 
low and rotten round in the noble ladder of 
education. 

Leaving this place I passed on a short dis- 
tance farther and beheld another log hut in 
which I had been raised. In front of it stood 
a large spreading evergreen which had been 



THE NORTH-WEST. 95 

Ijlanted by me when a child. This gave me 
courage and I resolved to 

Let the earth quake 

And the tree shake ; 
But I will unfurl my colors, 
Though at times it proves dolerous. 

I rested a few days at home then started to a 
classical city, some sixty miles distant, to visit 
the University of my youthful days. On my 
way out, I passed through a village where a 
farmer's daughter, with golden hair, and my- 
self used to attend church and listen to the 
divine words which fell from the lips of the 
village preacher. I learned that she had mar- 
ried the gentleman whom she thought was a 
millionaire and poet, but she got sadly left on 
both, so they concluded to settle down and 
live with the old folks at home. 

On arriving at the city in which the Univer- 
sity is located I noticed that the place also had 
a steady, health}^ growth. I remember that 
years ago when I alighted at the depot, there 
was an old, dilapidated structure there which 
could not hold rats. But what greets the 
travelers of today? A large fine building 
surrounded with green trees; also in place of 
water and mud the passengers are greeted by a 
newly erected monument which is an honor to 
any city. Scores of business houses and dwel- 
ings have been erected within the last decade. 
Formerly one school house accommodated the 



96 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



pupils of the city; to-day there are two high 
school buildings, one of them a new one costing 
$30,000 being in course of construction. In the 
line of churches, there is a noticeable effort to 




build nice edifices. A fine brick structure is 
standing to-day on the ground where not many, 
years ago, stood a small white frame building, 



THE NORTH-WEST. 



97 



Willi the plaster off of the walls and ceiling. 
Jii another part of the city the Ibundation is 
being laid for a second new church, which 
will be a large and fine structure. Still in an- 
other part of the city there are arrangements 
for the third new church. The changes and 
improvements in the University is likely the 




topic of most interest, especially to the students. 
I now^ go back to my own recollections, when I 
entered, with satchel in hand and was called a 
"Moss back," "First termer," " Hay seed" or 
any of those genteel terms then used by the 
Juniors and some Seniors. Why? 'Simply be- 
cause my pants were a little short or coat sleeves 
t'^o onir. Butthey are gone to fight the battles 
of le. Some are ministers of the Gospel, 



98 



OBSERVATIONS IN 



some are expounders of the law, others are be- 
coming famous in medicine, music and liter- 
ature, others have taken their places here, and 
some perhaps usin^ the pet names their prede- 
cessors used. However this may be, I would 
gladh'' bear their chafings if we could only 
meet once more in society and reunion as of 
yore. 

The President of the University, through his 




untiring energy, has brought the school to such 
a high standard that she is even being recog- 
nized by our aristocratic Eastern colleges. 
Formerly her students were numbered by the 



THE NORTH-WEST. 



99 



liiindreds but to-day by the thousands. Three 
large buildings adorn the campus and a fourth 
one will soon be in progress. Three new de- 
partments have been added lately, — Pharmacy, 
Law and Military. It is a beautiful sight to 
witness hundreds of boys with their bright uni- 
forms and glistening baj^onets and swords, 
marching to the beating of the drum. The 
President has also built for himself a fine man- 




sion instead of dwelling in the low " white 
house " Let me say before closing that the 
side walks which were formerly of boards and 
planks have been torn up (by the students, 
especially on Llollow Eve nights) and replaced 
by brick and stone walks. No more street 
lamps are used but the streets are now lighted 
by electricity and the students can no more 



lOO 



OBSERVATIONS IN THE N. W. 



hook grapes, take calves to chapel hall, take 
" aunt " from the museum and hang her on the 
telephone wires, go in squirt gun brigades, go 
to "Texas," tear up side walks, hook wood and a 
score of other deeds common to students, be- 
cause the streets are as liglit as day and it 
would be an impossibility to hide from the 
piercing eyes of our beloved professors. 

Many other instances might be cited and 
related to teach one to observe the changes 
which are constantly going on around us al- 
most unnoticed. Suffice it to say in conclusion, 
that as everything organic is subject to change, 
so may your hearts change from the natural to 
the spiritual, that when life's difficulties are 
over we ma}^ all gather around the throne of 
the Lamb where changes and partings are no 
more through all the annals of eternity. 



The End. 




'^^ 



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